Jenna Fischer’s Wedding Was Officiated by This Reality Star
Jenna Fischer will forever remain the lovable receptionist Pam Beesly who later marries love-of-her-life Jim Halpert on NBC’s iconic sitcom The Office. Revealing behind-the-scenes secrets of the show in her podcast “Office Ladies” alongside bestie and former co-star Angela Kinsey, Fischer is giving fans of the show their fill of new material outside of the sitcom’s syndicated reruns.
The actress is also enjoying life on the home front with husband Lee Kirk and their two children. The two married in 2010 and asked someone of reality show fame to officiate their wedding ceremony.
Fell for a co-worker … for real
Apparently, life imitates art. Just as her character Pam met her future hubby at work on The Office, Fischer fell for Kirk on the set of The Giant Mechanical Man. Kirk was the writer and director of the film when Fischer was brought on board. Over time, their relationship took a romantic turn.
“I attached myself as producer and actor to the movie. Then, for the next six or eight months or so, Lee was writing the movie, and he would turn in different drafts, and I would give him my thoughts. Very slowly, over those months, our meetings started turning into dates,” Fischer said, according to Vulture. “I was hesitant to tell him that I was developing feelings for him because this is my first producing job. I wanted to be professional! And here I am, falling in love with the writer.”
Fischer acknowledged that their courtship could almost become material for an onscreen love story. “It is a romantic comedy in itself,” she said. “And what if we dated for three months and then it fell apart? I loved the movie so much that I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize it. But after eight months of doing this, we finally confessed that we had feelings for each other. It was so great, because we had fallen in love.”
The alum of The Office described how their romance evolved from a professional partnership. “That sort of thing is usually not in your dating life. You don’t get to spend that much time with someone before becoming romantic with them,” Fischer noted. “It was very romantic and sweet. It was a lot of dinners with wine and going to see movies, while pretending like we were developing a movie when in fact we were essentially developing a relationship.”
Wedding plans
The couple married in July 2010 in Malibu, as reported by Us Weekly. The marriage is Kirk’s first – Fischer had one previous marriage to director James Gunn, whom she divorced in 2007.
The two had gotten engaged in Europe the previous summer and the bride-to-be didn’t waste any time in planning for the big day. “We have a venue, food and music so far,” Fischer told People in December 2009. “We’re getting married next summer in Los Angeles. We’re keeping it small.”
Leaving no stone unturned, Fischer was sure to plan each detail down to the letter. Literally. “We just got our save the date cards in, and they’re adorable – after many hours and many proofs later,” Fischer said. “We’re going to hold them until after the holidays before sending them out so they don’t get lost in the holiday mail.”
Food and flowers were also a priority for Fischer. “I’m a foodie, so I want to have really good food. We found a great caterer and had a two hour tasting and I left so full. We tried like four different entrees and 12 different appetizers,” she shared. “Our next big thing is flowers, and I’m sure by the end I’ll know every type of rose that grows and where it originates from. Right now, I’m like, ‘Eh, I don’t know.’ I’m definitely going to have some roses in there – they’re my favorite.”
He does weddings?
Topping off the festivities was having an unlikely guest officiate the nuptials. Fischer asked longtime pal Jeff Probst of Survivor fame to serve in the monumental role.
People reported that the Survivor host has been an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church since the 1990s. Probst happened to be filming in Nicaragua for Survivor’s 21st season around the time of Fischer’s big event but made a point of returning to Malibu to perform the ceremony for his friend.
Fischer’s ceremony was not Probst’s first – he had served in the officiator role for many friends over the years and also conducted his parents’ 35th anniversary vow renewal.
