Wedding: Palmer — Gaiman

Amanda MacKinnon Palmer and Neil Richard Gaiman were married on Jan. 2, 2011 in Berkeley, Calif. in the parlor of friends and fellow authors Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman. Musician Jason Webley, who was ordained for the occasion, officiated the “almost on the spur of the moment” ceremony. Guests were friends who had gathered for dinner, but were instead treated to the spontaneous wedding. Palmer wore the dress she had worn as the “8-foot Bride,” performing as a living statue for five-plus years in Harvard Square.

Amanda is a 1998 graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. She is a singer, composer, writer and performance artist, widely known as the front woman for the band The Dresden Dolls. She recently appeared in “Cabaret” at the A.R.T. in Cambridge, directed by Steve Bogart, drama teacher at Lexington High School. In December 2010, she was voted Artist of the Year by the Boston Music Awards Association.

Neil is the author of “Coraline,” “American Gods,” “Anansi Boys,” the Sandman comic series, and “The Graveyard Book,” “Neverwhere” and many others. He is the winner of the 2008 Newbery Medal, and the 2009 Carnegie Medal for “The Graveyard Book.”

Amanda is the daughter of John Winfield Palmer of Chevy Chase, Md. and Katharine A. Mockett of Lexington, and the stepdaughter of John A. Oberteuffer of Lexington. Neil is the son of Sheila Gaiman of London, England, and the late David Gaiman.

Amanda has changed her name to Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer. Neil has changed his name to Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman.