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Some 1,200 couples tied the knot in a mass ceremony on the outskirts of Mexico City on Wednesday, setting a record for the town of Nezahualcoyotl’s annual Valentine’s Day tradition.<\/p>\n
Couples of varying generations said “I do” in the town square, some to save money and others to finally make official long-standing relationships.<\/p>\n
“Weddings are expensive,” newlywed Rosalin Ruiz, 28, told AFP.<\/p>\n
Dressed in white, she sealed her union with partner Ricardo Reyes, 30, in a “more accessible” way, via this year’s “matrimonio colectivo,” or collective marriage.<\/p>\n
Yosimar Carrasco and Alejandra Godinez, both 37, were motivated by the desire to have a “different experience,” while for Pilar Hernandez and Susana Inocente, both 40, it was the opportunity for the LGBTQ couple to vindicate “equal rights.”<\/p>\n
A round of applause erupted in the square when Sonia Cruz, director of the state civil registry, declared the couples joined in “lawful matrimony” and invited them to kiss.<\/p>\n
This year’s ceremony, sponsored by the local mayor’s office, also awarded Nezahualcoyotl’s three longest-married couples, including one in a union of 50 years, who received televisions and armchairs.<\/p>\n
A similar Valentine’s Day mass wedding in Nicaragua saw 200 couples get hitched on the shores of Managua’s Lake Xolotlan.<\/p>\n
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