remy

I can’t condone Remy’s actions, and I’m not too versed on Pap’s music….but I respect their obvious commitment to each other. Its a rare thing. There’s no glory or flattering pr to be had from getting hitched in a locked room with no cameras, no cake and no wedding night to look forward to.

The New York Times has an interesting story today about what Remy and Papoose will be dealing with on Monday.

“The long walk to the Rose M. Singer chapel on Rikers Island starts after the wedding party passes through metal detectors. When the bride and groom reach the altar, the chapel doors are locked behind them.

Marriage vows are uttered in a windowless room with cinder-block walls. There is no cake, no music and no photography.

And forget a honeymoon cruise or a jaunt to a tropical island. The couple have permission for nothing more than a kiss after the pastor declares them husband and wife.

“Once you say ‘I do,’ he is going his way and you are going your way,” said the Rev. David Staton. “They are not going home together.”

The rules for weddings on Rikers Island are strict, but not enough to deter what hopeless romantics might call the power of love. Last year, for example, 180 marriages were performed on Rikers Island, about one every other day.

Pastor Staton has performed about 400 weddings at Rikers Island over the last six years, sometimes several in one day. Most of the time, the groom is the one who is incarcerated, but on Monday he will officiate at the Rikers wedding of the Grammy-nominated rapper Remy Ma, whose real name is Remy Smith, and who is awaiting sentencing after she was convicted of assault for shooting a woman in 2007.”

”

Simple wedding bands are permitted, but bridal bouquets are banned, because their thickets of stems and petals could be used for stashing contraband. For that reason, so are cakes.

And photography is forbidden, just as it is throughout the jail.

A correction officer watches over the ceremony. Some inmates are brought to the chapel in handcuffs, which are removed for the wedding.

While the Rikers Island chapels are nondenominational, the bride and groom can pay $50 to a jail-approved officiant to perform a ceremony in a particular religion.

“It’s a real quick service,” said the deputy warden for programs, Hakim El-Quhir, surveying the stark chapel room and its towers of stacked plastic chairs at the Rose M. Singer Center, where women are held.

“They come here, they say ‘I do,’ and they kiss, all teary-eyed.” he said. “And he is on his way.”

Conjugal visits are not allowed at Rikers, even for the newly wed. But once married, the couples can apply for a chance for time alone if the incarcerated spouse is moved to one of the state prisons that allow such visits.”