If there is a hierarchy of Mustang enthusiasts, Jon and Pamela Schultz are certainly in the top tier. While most diehards would limit their passion to tinkering around in the garage and attending a select few shows throughout the summer, Jon Schultz has managed to find the woman of his dreams who shares his passion for the car of his dreams. Their late October “Wedding at the Queen Mary” consecrated their love for one another and their mutual infatuation with the Ford Mustang. But more on that later.
This love story began where all good automotive love stories should: at the dealership. Schultz met Pamela at Sunset Ford in California, where he was the SVT/Performance Vehicle Manager in 2004. Her brother brought her in, begging her to stray her away from purchasing a dreadful PT Cruiser. Her interest in Mustangs was curbed due to the lack of the SVT’s Automatic options. “I explained that Ford had finally offered a performance Mustang in Automatic, the Mach 1,” says Schultz. “I showed her my 2003 Mach—starting it up with the Magnaflow Catbacks usually closes the deal.”
And it did. The duo found a black 2004 Automatic on the lot. “Eight test drives later—she was hot!—the deal was made, with a promise to get back together. I was smitten!”
Schultz’s connections in the Mustang world may have sparked the glow Pamela saw around him. When a porter who, according to Schultz, wanted to get out early, filled her tank up with 87 Octane and assured them it was okay, Schultz called his friend Art Hyde, the Team Mustang Chief Engineer, and head of the Mustang program where their cars were built. “It was midnight his time in Detroit,” says Schultz. "Hey Art, did I wake you? Yeah, sorry. You told me to call if I ever needed help!”
At this point, the porter was messing up his deal—and his date! Schultz attempted to end the confusion with one move. “Will you talk to my customer’s brother?” he asked the Mustang guru on the phone. “Here, this is the guy in charge of the Mustang back in Detroit,” he told the skeptics in the room. “He did the Mach 1.”
While the paperwork was finally settled on somewhat shaky grounds, a different connection was made that continued past that late evening. “I called Pam later that night to ‘see how the car was’ and we set up a date to meet the following week.”
However, on the day that the two were scheduled to meet, Jon woke up with Chicken Pox. Apparently, he caught them after his club, the Beach Cities Mustang Club (BCMC), made their annual toy delivery to hospitals on Christmas Day. A month later—apparently, it was a “really bad case”—the two got together and have been inseparable ever since.
Pam soon became the BCMC’s Office Manager, Vendor Coordinator and a board member. “She came into the hobby instead of taking me out of it,” says Schultz, gratefully. “That’s the way that we lose many great members.”
So, as their primary passion began to center on the Mustang, it was only fitting that Jon would propose to Pam at the 2006 Club Holiday and 10th Anniversary Party. “Our lives have revolved around the Ford Mustang and our club, which is like an extended family,” says Schultz. “So it seemed only fitting to invite the whole 500+ member club to the wedding. That, and all the participants from the last Mustangs at the Queen Mary, as well as the Roush Night participants. That, with family and friends left us with a 1,200+ invite list to deal with less than a month before the October 27 wedding, moved up from February 2008 because of ‘family logistics.’”
Those “logistics” will be explained later, but the wedding’s short notice and the enormous SEMA show left the Schultz wedding with 300 RSVPs and 60 Mustangs to be attending.
Schultz is, by no means, a man of convention. The wedding was to feature 60 Mustangs bearing witness to the sacred ceremony, where every intricate detail would carry a Mustang theme. In the beginning of the day, the Groom’s Luncheon featured an In-N-Out mobile semi-trailer that served burgers to the preferences of the guests, as well as a caricature artist and a vendor serving kettle corn and shaved ice. Schultz boasts of his dominant role in the wedding planning, only hiring a ‘day-of’ coordinator and handling the rest himself. “As a show promoter, I wanted to make this a fun and unique experience for all who attended. My goal at anything I plan is that everyone have a great time.”
The occasion’s distinction began with the food being served prior to the wedding. It extended to a ballot given to each guest the opportunity to vote for their favorite early and late model Mustangs at the wedding. The winners were Brian and Dorothy Gates’ 1967 Shelby and George and Jasmin Henriquez’s 2007 Saleen Parnelli Jones Edition.
Then came the ceremony, where chairs set up orchestra style were complimented by a “starburst” of Mustangs facing the last row of chairs, which were complimented by yet another row of Mustangs. Their sincere passion for ponies was assured to be expressed with a 15x30 black ground cover providing room for the couple’s two Mach 1’s to face each other and a five foot “Running Horse” in between. The processional crowd began with two Mustang replica pedal cars filled with pink roses and ended with Jon’s three year-old nephew speeding down the isle in an ’07 Mustang electric car. Every bridesmaid then entered in a convertible Mustang.
Schultz had his crowd captivated, but he still hadn’t thrown all of his curveballs. Before his bride’s convertible was in sight, a member of the audience abruptly got up, shouting “Excuse me!” He proceeded to approach the alter, claiming he was a professional wedding crasher and that he wanted to perform his first actual ceremony. “This shocked many people,” says Schultz. “Good thing I was on it. It was Ben Gleib, from the NBC show “The Real Wedding Crashers.” He went up to the fake clergyman and said he would take over now. They went through their script, and Ben took over - doing an amazing job his first time ever doing this, mixing humor with a touching ceremony.”
Those Mustang enthusiasts in the audience who didn’t recognize Gleib from his NBC show certainly recognized him from what Schultz calls the
“coolest Mustang commercial ever made”—he’s the guy in the back seat.
The bride soon appeared in a 1965 White Convertible Mustang, one of the most commented on aspects of the ceremony, according the Schultz. While she had no idea of the “prank” her groom had arranged beforehand, she trusted that everything was fine.
The ceremony went through flawlessly, concluding with an F-150 strapped with a ladder driving down the isle to get a group photo of every person in attendance. The day’s events concluded at the Britannia Salon for the Cocktail Party and Celebration, where guests enjoyed hors d'oevres, drinks and a “large, Mustang-themed cake.
The BCMC hosts an annual “Mustangs at the Queen Mary” show. To parody that concept, Schultz made shirts that said “Weddings at the Queen Mary” that featured the bride and groom, their two Mach 1’s and the famous Queen Mary, done by their in-club artist Kim Grim. Like “show shirts,” he tossed a couple dozen into the crowd, giving the affair a true Mustang show feel.
Guests were also treated to a special “Candy Station” done by Pam Schultz in which 50 pounds of candy were made available to the party. “They went faster than the booze!” says Schultz. The guests were also treated to a “Honeymoon Raffle,” a replacement of the traditional “dollar dance” that benefitted the guests instead of the bride and groom. The winners received a Mustang pedal car, Lakers and Dodgers tickets in addition to a dozen other prizes.
Perhaps the most unifying moment of the evening—between Mustang enthusiasts and lovers—occurred when Schultz prepared to announce the winner of the Late Model Mustang Award. “I prefaced it by saying that even though it was a customer of mine from Sunset Ford, I had nothing to do with it,” says Schultz. “There were excited murmurs from several parts of the room. Then I realized that I had sold at least 15 of the attendees their vehicles. ‘No, wait—relax! Not you, not you,’” he recalls telling those in attendance.
Schultz says this was really a great indicator of the vibrant community of enthusiasts the BCMC had created. “The really cool thing is that the newer owner of Sunset Ford was there, and saw how many customers the club generates,” he says. “Couldn't have planned it better if I tried!”
After all the toasting and carousing, the glorious Mustang marriage ceremony seemed to be winding down. Again, Schultz was not through. After making his final toast to his bride, Pamela, and their future together, he directed their mothers’ attention to an overhead screen, where the “family logistics” responsible for pushing up the wedding were revealed. On the screen was everyone’s first glimpse at the ultrasound of their son, planned to “cruise in” next March.
Congratulations, Jon and Pam! We at StangPlanet have never seen any event like this and look forward to seeing the positive energy that you two put into the Mustang community!
For more on this ponified affair, please visit
Jon and Pam's site. Also, check out more of their wedding photos in
StangPlanet "Wedding at the Queen Mary" Gallery. Be sure to stop by the
Beach Cities Mustang Club site as well.
Mustang Marriage: “Wedding at the Queen Mary”
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