Pirate festival in Virginia falls short of record, features wedding

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A gathering of 6,750 pirate impersonators in Virginia failed to commandeer a world record, but it did feature one pirate wedding.

The Mariners' Museum and Park in Newport News hosted the festival during the weekend and drew 6,750 people dressed in pirate costumes, falling short of the 14,231 record set in Hastings, England, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported Monday.

However, the event featured the wedding of Steven Dapcevich, 42, who works full time impersonating Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow character from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, and Gabrielle Warner, 30, who dressed as fellow "Pirates" character Elizabeth Swan for the occasion.

"I never really had an affinity for pirates until I met him," Warner said. "But then I met him. And so much of his character is who he is ... . It seemed right."

The couple said they are planning a more traditional wedding for next year.

"Neither of us is very traditional," Warner said. "We just wanted to share something special. Today was about Jack and Elizabeth. In a year it will be about Steven and Gabrielle."