The Bare Necessities Make For Very Few Altar-Ations

The bride wore white.

A white G-string, that is.

The groom wore black.

His G-string had tails.

"Even before we met we were nudists," said Richard Ragains, 39, of Auburn. "We both don't like wearing clothes. We clicked."

That "click" turned into a two-year romance for Ragains and Andrea Berringer, 29, of Auburn.

The couple married last week at Fraternity Snoqualmie, a nudist (clothing optional) family recreational park in Issaquah.

It was a perfect wedding - sunny day, outdoor reception in front of the mountains, lots of guests, and a three-tiered cake. Dick Love, president of the fraternity and an ordained minister, conducted the ceremony.

Few people were in the buff.

Maybe it was the temperature. The ceremony began around 7 p.m., and the day had cooled.

At Fraternity Snoqualmie, the rule is "Dress when practical, nude when possible," said Love, who wore a suit at the couple's request. Otherwise, he says you should wear clothes only under these conditions: "When you're frying bacon, or frying anything. When it rains. And when it's cold."

Most important, always remember your towel.

"People don't know it, but there is nudist protocol," said nudist Mike Lovelace, 47, of Issaquah. "When you visit someone, always bring a towel to sit on. It's nudist etiquette."

One wedding guest brought along a lavender towel, which fit the wedding colors of lavender and white.

The flower girl, Berringer's 5-year-old daughter Shasta, wore only a white and lavender heart-shaped bracelet, a lace headband, white socks and black dress shoes. She dropped lavender flower petals down the aisle.

Ragains' friend, Eugene Jenkins, 24, didn't wear any wedding colors. But he wore several layers of clothes. "It's a new experience, coming here," Jenkins said. "I like to stay clothed. But I've got no problem with this. Everybody's so open."

Even the wedding music was unique. "Someone's Getting Married Today" by the Muppets. A love duet between Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. ("He'll be the reason my heart can sing / She'll make me happy each time I hold her . . .")

On a more serious note, Love described the fraternity as a tightly knit community with strong family values. "We're decent people," Love said. "We do everything you do, but we're not hung up about our bodies."

Berringer admitted she was relieved when she and Ragains decided to hold a nude wedding:

"I didn't have to buy a dress."