'Every day is Valentine's Day' at Little Wedding Chapel in Chesapeake City

But “quaint” is just one of the descriptors that comes to mind when folks first see the place at 102 Bohemia Street. On a recent, unseasonably warm afternoon, Bel Air resident Janice Blendy stopped in her tracks in front of the chapel while walking down the sidewalk and gushed, “Oh, my gosh, it’s adorable. It’s like a she-shed. It’s so cute. I want to get married here. I would love that.”

For the record, Blendy, who grew up in Chesapeake City, is engaged to be married – although she and her fiancee, David Welk, have not picked a wedding date.

After spotting the chapel owner, Ken Boulden, on the front porch, Blendy introduced herself to him. Then, at Blendy’s request, Boulden happily gave her the grand tour of the chapel, where the first wedding ceremony at that new business was performed about two months earlier.

The entire tour took about one minute. Yes, there is a very good reason Boulden named it “The Little Wedding Chapel.”

As for sharing the facts and history surrounding the chapel, however, Boulden spent several minutes imparting the information to Blendy, who seemed quite interested.

Their happenstance interaction occurred on Feb. 8, six days before Valentine’s Day. As of that day, four couples were looking into holding their Valentine’s Day weddings there, according to Boulden, who smiled and then remarked, “Every day is Valentine’s Day at The Little Wedding Chapel.”

SIZE MATTERS

“This is the smallest wedding chapel in the world,” Boulden declared matter-of-factly.

The chapel is a 6 1/2’-wide-by-9 1/2’-long building. It takes 4 1/2 adult steps to walk from the front door to the back wall, which features a beautiful stained glass window. As for covering the distance from side wall to side wall, it takes 3 1/2 paces.

Boulden conducted extensive research through an online data base relating to small wedding chapels before making his claim, which he sometimes still qualifies by saying, “It is believed to be the smallest in the world,” when referring to how tiny the place is.

The Guinness World Records organization lists a wedding chapel in New England as the smallest in the world, according to Boulden, who then noted that it is an 8’-wide-by-10’-long building, larger than his place.

His research also shows that that record-holding chapel in New England is so dilapidated that weddings are no longer performed there. “It no longer exists. It was basically a shed with a steeple in a field. But the steeple fell off and the building is falling down,” Boulden said.

But Boulden decided it would be too costly for him to set the record straight.

“Guinness Book of Records — it’s a business. You have to pay for the application, for their research, for the review. It costs thousands of dollars to be recognized by Guinness,” Boulden said, before commenting, “I decided it would be far more cost-effective to force someone else to prove that this isn’t the smallest in the world.”

Smallness is part of The Little Wedding Chapel’s charm.

Nowadays, according to Boulden, couples are moving away from large, traditional church weddings and, instead, are gravitating toward two alternatives that continue to grow in popularity: Destination weddings in which the ceremonies take place at wonderful vacation spots and nuptials at places that are quirky, unique and so forth.

With the unofficial claim of being the smallest wedding chapel in the world, The Little Wedding Chapel certainly is unique, and perhaps even quirky.

“Some people don’t want to spend thousands of dollars for a wedding. They just want their wedding to be unique, intimate and personal. There is nothing more unique than this place because it is one of a kind,” Boulden said.

Along those lines, approximately 10 guests can attend a wedding at the chapel, which has a steeple. “I have two benches that can seat three people each, so that’s six guests right there. You can have four other guests who can stand — as long as they like each other,” Boulden outlined with a chuckle.

The bride, groom and officiant bring the total to 13 people who can fit snugly inside The Little Wedding Chapel, which overlooks the nearby canal from the back and is two doors down from Chesapeake City Town Hall.

HISTORY MATTERS, TOO

The restored building that is now known as The Little Wedding Chapel was built in 1870 and it has been used in a variety of ways over the past 150 years, most recently serving as a specialty soap shoppe.

So the building’s history also is part of the charm it has in spades. Along those lines, Boulden conducted research relating to weddings during that time period so that, while decorating the chapel, he would be able give the place as much of a historically-accurate appearance as he could.

“Most weddings during that time were performed in the home or in small churches. We wanted to replicate that,” Boulden explained.

For example, the two wooden benches on which The Little Wedding Chapel guests can sit are similar to what was used back in the 1870s. “My research said they didn’t use pews back then. They used benches. Each bench is 40 inches long,” Boulden said.

A Holy Bible with gold-gilded pages that dates back to the 1870s sits on a small wooden table inside the chapel and, if the couple so desires, it can be used during the ceremony. (Boulden, who is ordained, says that he performs meaningful and spiritual ceremonies. He can add any ceremonial touches requested by the bride and groom.)

Also on that old table is a leather-bound ledger from the 1870s. Couples sign that ledger after they have been pronounced husband and wife, according to Boulden, who excitedly added, “When filled with entries, it will be donated to the museum in Chesapeake City, so the uniqueness of the couple’s special day will be part of the history of the town.”

Adorning the two side walls inside the chapel are nine framed photos — each showing a bride and groom on their wedding day in the 1870s. Those weddings were performed in and around Cecil County 140 to 150 years ago, he noted.

In addition to the stained glass window on the back wall, there also is a “traditional wedding arch” made up of white lace, a long strand of imitation pearls and a white floral arrangement.

PERFECT FOR THE JOB

Boulden, 76, feels that he made the perfect choice when he decided to open The Little Wedding Chapel and perform wedding ceremonies as his retirement job. (Although his home address is listed as Middletown, Del., where he lives with his wife, Boulden’s residence is only a three-minute drive away from the chapel.)

What did he do before retiring in January 2020?

“I served as the New Castle (Del.) County Clerk of the Peace and I oversaw the Marriage Bureau. I served six four-year terms,” Boulden said, before estimating that he officiated more than 20,000 weddings in those 24 years on the job. “I stopped counting after 15,000. I probably did another 5,000 (vow) renewal ceremonies on top of that.

So why would Boulden open a business in retirement that mirrors what he did for a career, minus, of course, all of the administrative stuff that went along with it?

“Retirement gives you the opportunity to do what you love to do. Weddings bring happiness and joy to people, including myself,” Boulden said. “Officiating a wedding is a very unique experience because you are sharing with that couple what is probably the most special day of their lives.”

The Little Wedding Chapel, which is available to the public for intimate weddings and vow renewal ceremonies, offers “affordably priced a la cart packages to fit even the smallest budget,” Boulden said, noting that he can officiate a wedding or a couple can bring in an outside minister to perform the ceremony. The bridge and groom and their guests can use the chapel for one hour.

Also appealing to brides and grooms and their guests, The Little Wedding Chapel is within close walking distance to reputable restaurants and bed & breakfasts in Chesapeake City, as well as boat tours that launch directly behind chapel.

Anyone seeking more information can call The Little Wedding Chapel at 667-368-8004 or visit its website at 1870WeddingChapel.com.