Kelly Capwell and Joe Perkins' wedding

The weddings of Santa Barbara
Kelly Capwell and Joe Perkins

Home

It is the very first wedding of the history of Santa Barbara which will not count 34 ones. This wedding allows to join together the first star couple of the show : the sweet Kelly Capwell with Joe Perkins who, after six long years of separation and many adventures, finally unite their destiny.

However for Kelly and Joe, everything had well started : the only obstacle to their relation remained the powerful patriarch of the Capwell family, Channing Creighton Capwell, who reproached the too modest origins of the young man. He dreamed of a more cheering marriage for the youngest of his daughters. Unfortunately for Kelly, the things get degraded very quickly and the events gave reason to C.C. Capwell. During a reception in July 1979, the young Channing Capwell Junior, a brother of Kelly and also the preferred son of C.C. Capwell, is found murdered in the office of the mansion. Kelly, who penetrates the first in the room, finds her fiancé, knelt at the side of her brother, the hands covered of blood, and holding in the hands the weapon of the crime. It is mainly because of Kelly 's testimony that Joe is recognized guilty at the lawsuit for the murder of Channing Junior. And although he does not cease protesting his innocence, Joe is led to Saint Quentin prison, to purge his sentence.

The years pass for Kelly who remakes her life with Peter Flint, a seducing physics teacher. And during this time, Joe continues to think of Kelly and writes many letters to her, in memory of the marvellous time spent together, and in which he does not cease protesting his love and his innocence to her. Unfortunately, Kelly will never receive these letters.

They is five years after the drama, in 1984, that Joe is released from prison for his good behaviour. And of course, he immediately comes back to Santa Barbara in order to reconquer the heart of the one he never ceased loving and in order to discover the identity of the real murderer of Channing Junior. Consequently, the events follow one another at unbridled intervals : Kelly doubts of Joe's culpability more and more, her heart always feels strongly attracted by him, and the morbid jealousy of Peter moves her away more, day after day, from this new fiancé.

After several months of investigation, Joe is finally cleared of the murder of Channing Junior, thanks to an incredible confession of Peter, at the point of death. Consequently, nothing seems to get opposed to their union any more, more especially as even C.C. Capwell was resigned to see Kelly marrying Joe. C.C. re-examined his position as for Joe, because this last one saved the life of his fiancée at the time of the Santa Barbara earthquake, and especially he released her from the claws of the carnation killer, who was in fact Peter Flint himself.

This first wedding takes place during the second season, during episodes 134 and 135. The unavowed purpose of this wedding was to make accept by the public the new face of Joe Perkins. Because, the televiewers preferred the first actor Dane Whitherspoon to his successor Mark Arnold. It joined together :

- The members of the Capwell family : C.C. (her father), Mason (her half-brother), Eden (her sister), Ted (her brother),

- The Perkins family : Marisa (Joe's mother), Amy and Jade (his two young sisters),

- Gina Blake DeMott, C.C. Capwell's new mistress, and her son Brandon,

- Cruz Castillo, the detective and faithful friend of Joe's,

- The Andrade family : Ruben (Capwell gardener), Rosa (his wife and Capwell housekeeper) and Danny (their son),

- Peter Flint, Kelly's former fiancé, who attends all the ceremony, hidden in the confessional,

- And several friends : Jackie Parks, Elizabeth Peale, Sally Taylor, back in Santa Barbara for the event.

And although Kelly and all the inhabitants of Santa Barbara are unaware of it, Sophia Capwell attends the ceremony, under the features of the journalist Susan Carlyle, invited by Mason to join the ceremony. It is while Jeffrey Osborne sings that get prepared the four bridesmaids (Jade, Amy, Sally and Eden) and that the many guests take a seat at the ceremony. Although he was for a long time opposed to this union, C.C. was not stingy with the money so that the first wedding of his children is a success.

It is a few minutes before the beginning of the ceremony that Mason arrives. Eden immediately notices his rather advanced drunkenness state. She fears that he came only to waste the wedding of their young sister. Mason ensures her that it is not his purpose and Eden is hard to believe him. While entering the church, he is welcomed by Ted who is pleased with his arrival. As Mason precisely underlines it, it was impossible for him not to come : "A celebration without him, it is like a good meal without wine." Ted spontaneously proposes to him to lead him to the benches reserved to the family, but Mason refuses because there is a long time that he does not have the feeling to be a part of the Capwell family anymore. This is why he decides to sit down at the bottom of the church, "with the poor people". And the chance makes him taking a seat at the sides of the journalist Susan Carlyle. This one, fearing that Mason does not recognize her, readjusts her black glasses land her wig.

Then whereas Jeffrey Osborne continues his song, Joe and Cruz, under Marisa's look full of pride and joy, take place in front of the altar. Then comes in the nave the young Brandon DeMott who has the delicate mission of carrying the alliances. He is followed by Kelly's bridesmaids. During her slow walk, Eden and Cruz exchange many glances full of sense, which let hope their dreams to be able to live this moment of pure happiness too.

Lastly, we guess at the bottom of the nave, the white dress of the bride. She is resplendent at her father's arm, happy to see such an amount of joy on the face of his daughter. Because, no one can have any doubt of it, Kelly is at this time the happiest women. And whereas she comes at her father's arm, she thinks about her long years without Joe and her terrible hours at the sides of Peter Flint. And inside of her, she must unceasingly thank Joe's obstinacy to reconquer her. Because, without this will out of the common run, she would not be there, in this church, to walk towards him... But perhaps she would walk towards Peter Flint... But she does not want to think about this past anymore. She wants to only face the future. Towards Joe, who awaits her a few meters from her...

Even if nobody dares to pronounce his name, throughout the ceremony, we feel to plane Peter Flint's shade. Moreover, even before the wedding does begin, he succeeded in enter the sacristy of the church to offer his gift to Kelly. And before Cruz or Joe succeed in catching him, Peter found his hiding-place again.

Later, at the time to pronounce their vows, Kelly finds a white carnation, slipped inside the book in which she was going to read a poem for Joe. Kelly falls down in Joe's arms. This is too much for her. Peter is here and he deceitfully continues to threaten her... Around them the guests worry, being unaware of all the danger which threatens her. A little apart, Peter seems to be delighted by the young woman's doubts. Fortunately, in Joe's arms and supported by Cruz and Eden, Kelly finds her mind again very quickly. And in spite of Eden's and the minister's advises, neither Joe nor Kelly want to delay their wedding. They awaited too much already and they do not want to leave the fear guiding their step. Kelly insists so that the minister continues the ceremony until its end. Tenderly, to comfort her, Joe takes the hand of his future wife in his.

It is under the Andrades' look, then her father's and Gina's and finally under Peter's (who repeats in the same time as her her wishes) that Kelly agrees to marry Joe. Joe does the same, supported by all the pride and all the love a mother is able. Then comes the so awaited moment of the vows exchange. Joe is the first one to repeat the minister's words. It is then Kelly's turn to pronounce this same promise under the eyes full of tears of her mother, masked under the features of Susan Carlyle.

A moment later, Brandon, proud of his role, brings the rings to them. By slipping their ring mutually, Kelly and Joe say to themselves : "I give you this ring in proof of my love and my confidence". If all the guests seem charmed, it is not the case of Peter, who seems to suffer more and more as the ceremony occurs, a little as if, at each stage, in his sick brain, a needle was planted more and more deeply in him.

Lastly, arrives the moment so much awaited where the minister declares them officially husband and wife. It is under the tenderised look of their families and friends that Kelly and Joe kiss themselves and end up entering the history of Santa Barbara. Kelly is so dazzling of happiness in her husband's arms when she walks down again the nave of the church, unconscious, like everyone, of the drama that get prepared in the shade. Because if everybody participates to her happiness, at a few steps from her, Peter observes her. Mad of jealousy and anger, he certainly dreams to be at Joe's place. Moreover, his sick brain retained the priest's words : until death tears you apart. Tears you apart... Tears you apart... He only thinks about that. And whereas Joe and Kelly are taken by their happiness, he takes a revolver from his jacket... And it is because they are immediately congratulated by Eden and Cruz that Peter cannot shoot...

After the ceremony, a reception is given at the Capwell mansion where, fortunately, Peter will not be able to join them. After the reception, Kelly and Joe go to the Capwell hotel to spend their honeymoon there. Unfortunately it will have a taste of blood, since they will end up discovering in the room next to theirs the dead body of Candy Fox, assassinated by the carnation killer...

Unfortunately for our two heroes, the happiness will be short, since Joe will find death a few episodes later, mortally wounded by Peter Flint who never recovered from his rupture with Kelly. In fact the writers thus wanted to get rid of Mark Arnold, that the public did not find to his taste. And with Joe, it is a little the spirit of the show which disappears because, for many televiewers, the character of Joe Perkins represented the conscience, in the middle of the much less moralist world of the Capwells. After the death of her husband, Kelly will fall into a deep depression, and she will spend long months before getting out of it. And despite all the love of Nick Hartley, she will not be able to be detached from the presence of Joe And it is only with Jeffrey Conrad that Kelly will find the forgetfulness of the memory of Joe.

Text written for this site by Lilian