Inside America's first 'Mod Wedding' in Swinging Sixties Detroit: Orchestrated by Andy Warhol, the happy couple serenaded by The Velvet Underground in front of 4,500 guests... now the bride says it was all a con she'd rather forget

It was less of a wedding and more of a mass theatrical chaos masterminded by none other than Andy Warhol at the height of his fame and notoriety as the king of pop art and the mastermind behind The Factory. 

The happy couple - an 18-year-old waitress and her 25-year-old salesman groom who'd met through friends and were madly in love - were one of 50 pairs who'd entered a contest to win an all-expenses paid honeymoon to New York City and a screen test with Warhol himself.

All they had to do was marry on stage in front of 4,500 guests to the sounds of the up-and-coming Velvet Underground, part of Warhol's expanding coterie, while a sledgehammer-wielding man smashed up a car, and the couple's wedding gift from Warhol - an oversized replica of a Baby Ruth candy bar - was propelled around by one of the artist's minions. 

The scene of 'bizarre chaos' took place on November 20, 1966, the last day of the weekend-long Carnaby Street Fun Festival in Swinging Sixties Detroit. 

Warhol lauded the event as America's first 'Mod Wedding'. But to the bride, Randy McNair, now 76, it turned out to be nothing but 'a scam' and a lie that she would rather forget, she told the Detroit Free Press which sent a reporter to cover the original event nearly 60 years ago.

The marriage, which was real, lasted two years and produced a daughter, but the competition prize - the trip to New York and the screen test - never happened. 

America's first 'Mod Wedding': Andy Warhol (left in a leather jacket) stood on stage next to bride Randy McNair, then 18, and her 25-year-old groom Gary Norris. They were married on stage in November 1966 to the sounds of The Velvet Underground, then an up-and-coming band who were part of Warhol's entourage

McNair wore thigh-high boots and a mini-dress supplied by Warhol's team and Norris was outfitted in a plaid suit. Warhol is seen in the far left, hands crossed, wearing a striped t-shirt - and  Velvet Underground's Nico is seen with the microphone

Two dozen people danced in front of the nuptials as Warhol's gift to the couple, a large, inflated replica of a Baby Ruth bar, was propelled around the stage 

McNair had grown up in northwest Detroit and worked as a waitress when she met Norris. She may have been self-described rebel, but ironically she was not a Velvet Underground fan. 

She loved listening to the likes of Fabian, Frankie Avalon, Ricky Nelson and the Temptations. 

Speaking 57 years after the wedding, McNair told the Detroit Free Press: 'It was all a scam. That's something that I never want to remember. It was all a lie.

'It was a joke. It was like it was not really a ceremony. It wasn't something I would have had if it wasn't a contest.'

She said: 'It was just terrible. Nobody ever contacted me afterwards. It was just a stunt they did for publicity, that's it. So, you know I was used, but I had fun.'

'I'm not angry or anything. That's not what my parents really wanted for me. And I've learned a lot of lessons since I've grown up. I'm still growing up.'

Her mother, who spoke to reporters on the day, agreed. She was quoted as saying: 'This is not exactly the wedding I had planned for my daughter'. 

McNair, who went on to remarry and became a custodian, said of her first marriage: 'We had fun together. We were young and stupid. The whole thing was bizarre. Utter chaos.'

One of Warhol's friends Gerard Malanga danced around with a bullwhip - while a spectacular light show was put on by Warhol's group, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable. Despite all the crazy pomp, the wedding was legitimate. It was officiated by Judge David L. Golden, from Highland Park Municipal Court

The Velvet Underground serenaded the bride, while a muscular man smashed an old car with a sledgehammer in front of the happy couple and their thousands of onlookers. The DeSoto car that was smashed had a sticker on it that read: 'If It Moves, Fondle It'

The marriage only lasted two years, bride Randy McNair revealed. She said the entire thing was a 'scam,' and that they didn't even get the honeymoon promised by the organizers. The bride and groom are pictured center, after they were officially married, with Andy Warhol to the far left

The bride was 18, and the groom 25. The pair met through friends and fell madly in love. The nuptials - dubbed 'The Mod Wedding' - took place on November 20, 1966, on the final day of the Carnaby Street Fun Festival

On the wedding day, organizers provided McNair's wedding dress - a white mini-skirt and thigh-high white satin boots.

She had her hair in a beehive, coated by a veil, while her husband-to-be wore a plaid suit with tight cuffs.

During the wedding, the stage was crowded with frenzied people with so much going on that many people recalling the scene said it was completely bizarre. 

The Velvets provided the music to the fanfare wedding - while Nico, their vocalist, read from a book: 'If I take to love, will I find you gone?'

Velvet Underground - who are now known for their punk-rock songs about drugs, love and sex - did sing 'Here Comes the Bride'.

McNair and Norris arrived at the stage in a black Rolls Royce - but the locks malfunctioned, and it took the couple 15 minutes to open the doors before the ceremony could begin.

Warhol arrived on stage with a paint bucket and ketchup bottles, in a leather jacket. The artist escorted McNair to the judge - as if he was her father giving her away - and then sat on a box of tomato soup.

A poster advertising the 'freak out' Mod Wedding in 1966

On the wedding day, organizers provided McNair's wedding dress - which was a white mini-skirt and thigh-high white satin boots. She had her hair in a beehive, coated by a veil, while her husband-to-be Norris wore a plaid suit with tight cuffs

Randy McNair, now 75, and Gary Norris cut the cake at the Mod Wedding

Two dozen people danced as the large, inflated replica of a Baby Ruth bar was moved around - which was Warhol's gift to the couple. 

The Velvet Underground serenaded the bride, while a muscular man smashed an old car with a sledgehammer in front of the happy couple and their thousands of onlookers. 

The DeSoto car that was smashed had a sticker on it that read: 'If It Moves, Fondle It.'

One of Warhol's friends Gerard Malanga danced around with a bullwhip - while a spectacular light show was put on by Warhol's group, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable.

Despite all the crazy pomp, the wedding was legitimate. It was officiated by Judge David L. Golden, from Highland Park Municipal Court and the three legal witnesses were Irwin Chaitin, who was a local businessman, and Scott Regen, a DJ, and soul singer Edwin Starr.

But McNair - or Golaner as she was then - and her groom Gary Norris, who died in 1994, weren't the organizers' first choice. 

Around 50 couples entered the competition and at first, two University of Michigan students, Jimmy Silver and Susan Bassett, won. But they withdrew. 

Silver said the Mod Wedding was 'the grooviest thing in the world,' but they backed out because they knew it would be 'weird.' The couple, who were Mods through and through, ended up marrying in 1968 in the Fun House, the Stooges' home in Ann Arbor. They are still together and live in LA, according to the Detroit Free Press. 

In all, Warhol was paid $1,500 for his presence and performance, the equivalent of around $14,000 today. 

Even 57 years on, onlookers who watched the wedding think it was wild.  

Barry Roth, now 72, recalled: 'The whole thing was like another realm I never imagined. Nico had a haunting kind of voice.'

John Sinclair, 82, also said: 'It was the corniest c**p I ever saw in my life. It was the worst show I ever saw, and I've seen a lot of shows.'

Carl Galeana, from Wayne, was just 15 when she attended the concert and wedding. Recalling the ordeal this year, she said: 'What I remember is how weird it was. This guy bashing a car to death! I guess I was confused. I was only 15. I thought, 'How does this translate to a wedding?' 

Van Gordon Sauter, now 88, covered the event for the Detroit Free Press. He recalled Warhol being calm while the chaos unfurled around him. Sauter even got an autographed can of soup from the artist - but his wife unknowingly opened it, served it to their kids and then threw the can in the trash.