WOW VOW; COUPLES FOLLOW WEDDINGS WITH STRAP-IN THRILLS.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

Instead of being showered with rice, four sets of husbands and wives held on for dear life Friday as Colossus stopped their hearts and Batman, the Riddler and Viper sent them head over heels.

The four couples were wed on four different twisting, turning, looping, stomach-churning roller coasters at Magic Mountain, a pre-Valentine's Day event in which the betrothed were selected through a radio station contest.

``Life is just like a roller coaster - it has its ups and downs,'' groom Mart Mullins, 23, reflected after taking his vows on The Riddler's Revenge. ``Once you're strapped in, you can't bail out until it's done.''

The brides wore white. The grooms donned dark suits or tuxedos. Well-wishers posted ``Just Married'' signs on cars that whisked the couples away after they exchanged vows in Friday's nuptials.

But those were the only conventional trappings of the ceremonies, held on a sunny but brisk, windy morning.

Engaged for three years, Mullins and Jennifer Cravens, 20, originally had planned a Las Vegas wedding this May to mark her 21st birthday. Instead, the redhead in the sleeveless gown and her goateed groom held hands in the front train as the thrill ride zipped, spiraled and plummeted them along neon-green tracks.

Mullins of Long Beach and his new wife, a Cypress College psychology student, strolled across the park to watch another couple say ``I do'' aboard the all-wooden Colossus, famous for its steep hills and 60-mph speeds.

On loudspeakers around the park, wedding-themed music set the tone for the lighthearted affair. Frank Sinatra crooned ``love and marriage, love and marriage, it's an institute you can't disparage'' and Stevie Wonder proclaimed ``signed, sealed, delivered - I'm yours.''

Billy Idol declared ``It's a nice day for a white wedding'' and The Dixie Cups waxed harmonic about ``going to the chapel and we're gonna get married.''

Holy matrimony, Batman! Henry Yamada, 42, and Kimberly Hile, 36, tied the knot aboard the Gotham City roller coaster named for the Dark Knight as their families - including the bride's 16-year-old son, Mike - rode along or cheered from the train platform.

``Can I change my mind?'' Yamada joked as he lowered the ride's shoulder harness.

The Carson resident, who owns an aquarium business, said he proposed to Hile two years ago, suggesting they get hitched while riding a thrill ride atop the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. ``She turned me down because she's scared to death of roller coasters,'' he said.

But after the Rev. William Crandall pronounced first-time groom Yamada and Hile husband and wife, the bride was all smiles as the train zoomed back to the station, her windblown gown revealing a garter on her left leg and red sneakers on her dangling feet.

``Are you guys going to kiss?'' an onlooker shouted after the ride.

``We can't,'' Hile replied, demonstrating that the cumbersome shoulder harnesses got in the way. ``We did air kisses and kissed each other's hands. We're due for that big wet one.''

Later, Yamada was a little the worse for wear because the couple made five trips on Batman The Ride for the benefit of a crush of television cameras. ``He's sick and I'm the one who doesn't like roller coasters,'' Hile said.

``My best man said: `You're not feeling woozy because of the roller coaster. You're feeling woozy because you just got married,' '' Yamada added.

All four couples said they wanted to add an offbeat twist to their wedding day.

Pacoima resident Patricia Medrano and Bobby Isais, 27, of Lincoln Heights professed their undying devotion aboard Colossus because they wanted their nuptials to be ``spontaneous, different and exciting,'' the 28-year-old bride explained.

Medrano, who works for a Woodland Hills radiologist, and Isais, a supervisor at a San Fernando warehouse, said they'll still have a conventional church wedding in September. But the amusement park setting was too irresistible to pass up, they said.

``Excitement - that's what I want our marriage to be all the time,'' Medrano said. ``Never a dull moment.''

Also married Friday were Rebecca Harris, 19, and Rocky Villarma, 26, of Los Feliz, who tied the knot on Viper.

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Newlyweds Henry Yamada and Kimberly Hile, center, brave G-forces on Magic Mountain's Batman ride.

(2--Ran in Valley Edition only) Mart Mullins places the ring on his bride Jennifer Cravens while the Rev. Bill Crandall, right, officiates Friday aboard The Riddler's Revenge roller coaster.

(3--Color--Ran in SAC Edition only) Three sets of newlyweds get their married lives started with a scream aboard a roller coaster at Magic Mountain.

(4--Color--Ran in SAC Edition only) Rebecca Harris, 19, and Rocky Villarma, 26, seal their wedding vows with a kiss Friday before taking a ride on the Viper at Magic Mountain.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News