MASS WEDDING/SEPT. 29, 2017: 87 couples tie knots in a mass wedding at Cebu metropolitan cathedral sponsured by the cebu City government.(CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
A total of 87 couples coming from Cebu City’s 80 barangays walked down the aisle of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on Friday afternoon to fulfill a longtime dream of getting married.
Dressed in traditional wedding garbs, they exchanged vows in a ceremony officiated by cathedral rector, Msgr. Ruben Labajo.
A wedding reception followed at the Plaza Sugbu grounds where lechon (roasted pig) and a wedding cake were given to each of the newly weds.
Leah Japson, head of the Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS), said on her Facebook post that the gathering, the 11th mass wedding organized by the Cebu City Women and Family Affairs Commission, was a success.
The couple started to gather at the cathedral entrance by noontime with their family members and wedding sponsors.
Pairs started to walk down the aisle to their designated seats when wedding songs were played starting at 1:30 p.m.
Wedding sponsors led by Reps. Raul del Mar (north) and Rodrigo Abellanosa (south); Councilors Margot Osmeña, Sisinio Andales, Alvin Arcilla and Jerry Guardo; and City Hall department employees witnessed the couples exchange wedding vows.
After the Mass, the couple were made to board Kaoshiung buses that were waiting outside the cathedral on their way to the reception area at the Plaza Sugbu.
Their family members and guests walked the half kilometer distance to the reception area.
Maricar Tariman, the mass wedding coordinator, said the couples were chosen by the Gender and Development (GAD) focal persons coming from the city’s 80 barangays.
She said the couple should have lived together for at least five years to avail of the city government’s program.
They were asked to prepare their wedding clothes and wedding rings while City Hall spent on the other wedding expenses and reception.