COEUR d'ALENE - There was that wedding with the Hell's Angels that LaVena Allen will never forget, complete with motorcycles roaring, guns blazing, and plenty of booze and beer.

"They wanted us to stay for the reception, but we didn't," Allen said, laughing.

Then, there was the one she was delivered by jet ski to a boat.

Another, the bride got dressed behind a shower curtain - outside.

"We've been to some crazy ones and some really beautiful ones," said Allen's daughter, LaDonna Dismuke.

In her nearly 25 years as a minister at the Hitching Post, Allen has married thousands of couples, from puppy love teenagers to sentimental seniors.

No repeat customers, either.

But come the end of this month, she's saying "I do" to retirement.

While 84-year-old loves her role, it's simply time to move on.

"I just don't have the energy and the strength I used to have. I need to retire while I still can enjoy life," she said.

Allen brings her joy to the Hitching Post and beyond when necessary.

Last Thursday, she guided Norman and Krystal Hale through to marital bliss in a short and sweet 10-minute ceremony, just as requested.

Standing behind the podium in the small room decorated with flowers, pictures and a mirror, Allen didn't just cut to the part where the bride and groom say "I do." Instead, she gave them a little premarital advice and sage wisdom from 1st Corinthians 13.

Marriage, she explained, is the most sacred relation in life. The ring is a symbol of that love that has no end.

"When we think of marriage, we think of love," she said.

But love alone isn't enough.

No matter how two people met, no matter what they've gone through or how long they've been together, staying together takes work. A lot of work.

Marriage, she said, is a serious commitment that comes with serious promises.

"Because you know what? I can just guarantee you don't always agree," Allen said.

When that happens, it's time to talk. Don't let feelings fester.

"It's so important that you talk to one another," she told the couple. "Listening is a pretty important part of it, too."

"We'll see what we can do about that," Norman Hale answered.

Allen urged them to appreciate and love each other, always.

"Thank you, Lord, for this couple. I ask you to bless this couple with health and happiness," she said. "In Jesus' name we pray, amen."

A few minutes later, following the traditional vows of love, honesty and respect, Allen turned to Norman Hale and said, "You may kiss your bride."

He did.

Allen was sitting in the front office shortly afterward as the Hales and their party departed.

She wished them well and smiled as the door closed.

This is what she likes most about marrying folks.

"I enjoy hearing about their lives. Most everyone that comes in is happy," she said.

During the ceremony, she avoids rehearsed, canned lines and instead, makes it personal. An average ceremony takes 10 minutes. Allen, who works only on Thursdays now, averages about five a day. Her record is 12.

"Everybody has a few things you just can kind of tune in on," she said.

Allen, an ordained minister since 1952, doesn't hesitate to read from 1st Corinthians 13 during ceremonies, and isn't shy about invoking the name of Jesus Christ, either.

"I don't think I can separate my life from my faith. It's a part of me. I don't have to stop and think. There it is."

She knows how to make marriage work. Allen and husband Don, a pastor, were together 47 years before he passed away in 1997.

"I learned how to treat a husband and always get along. We had a very happy marriage," she said.

Lynn and Donald Knapp have owned the Hitching Post 23 years. They'll miss Allen, describing her as faithful, consistent and trustworthy, a minister willing to do anything, go anywhere to pronounce a couple as man and wife.

She'll absolutely be missed, Lynn said.

"She knows so much and has been here so long. It's easy to rely on her all these years. It's going to be difficult replacing her."

Allen came to work at the Hitching Post when friend John Green, owner at the time, mentioned during breakfast he needed a manager.

"I guess we'll have to do it," Allen said.

So they did.

Since, she's married many, many couples. Not sure of the exact number. No one is.

"I don't know, but it's been a lot," she said.

Some more memorable then others, such as the one where Allen and her daughter were passengers in an old Jeep - that bounced its way up a mountainside to the site of the nuptials.

Another involved a couple that had been living together 40 years, with adult children, who decided to get married. Allen performed the ceremony, and the newlyweds headed out for their cruise.

The marriage didn't last.

"On the cruise he died," Allen said.

Her daughter, LaDonna Dismuke, is proud of her mom. Most, she said, are surprised when they hear Allen is 84 and still working and oh, the stories she could tell.

"She has done some crazy, wild weddings," Dismuke said, laughing.

But it's not the show that counts. It's the substance.

Weddings at the Hitching Post run $70 Monday through Thursday, and $80 on Fridays and Saturdays. Cheap by any standards.

Those who spend thousands on a wedding don't have the license on love. No guarantee their vows will last.

"It's what's in the hearts of the two people and what they want to make of it," Allen said.