25 couples exchange vows

Twenty-five pairs happily vowed "till death do us part" yesterday during the much-awaited annual mass wedding ceremony in Dubai's St Mary's Catholic Church.

The three-hour service, organised by the Filipino community, was solemnised by three clergymen led by Italian Fr Daniel Cerefolini, and witnessed by an army of well-wishers, photographers and community members.

The festive event was kept alive by a 20-member choir. Most couples were Filipinos, except for Ritest Goekna, an accountant from India who wed Cheryl Cranston, from Manila.

"We used to think we won't fall in line for a mass wedding because we believed this once-in-a-lifetime event should be special," said Dindo Gonzales, a 23-year-old salesman, who wed Anna Lisa Garcia, 24, his sweetheart of three years.

"But here, the organisers made it very special and we owe it to them. We can't be any happier."

The contrasts - the youngest bride was 22 while the oldest was 50 - were buried in the crowded church as the couples with their respective entourages packed the compound as early as 9am in different wedding motifs - lilac, light blue, pink peach, off-white and light green.

Melchor Francisco, 33, first married Rory Solarte in 1997 before a district court judge in the Philippines.

"It is our shared dream to solemnise our marriage vows. I'm excited now knowing that I will be a father soon," said Francisco.

"This is my second and my last," wisecracked Eddie Romero, 43, while waiting in the line for his bride, Felicidad Bunag, 50, to walk down the aisle. They were the oldest couple in the batch. The couple had previously joined a mass civil wedding in Manila's Caloocan district officiated by the city mayor.

"My joy is unspeakable right now," said Alvin Elman, 28, as they freed white balloons at the church patio. He met Joyce Tarriella in Dubai two years ago and they exchanged vows in a non-Catholic wedding ceremony last February.

"No one can buy our happiness now that our dream to have a traditional wedding has been realised."

The Filipino community leaders started the mass wedding affair in 1994 to help couples formalise their union at minimal cost. This is the eighth year running that a mass wedding was held on the sidelines of the UAE National Day celebrations.

Out more than 80 couples who initially signed, only 25 finally turned in the requirements. "This is actually our second wedding, but no less exciting," said Eduardo Buarao, 40, from Bicol.

He first married his wife, Pampangueña Milagros Lenon, in Saipan, Guam, in a civil wedding in 1985. "My word is my bond now, because marriage is a lifetime commitment."

Fr Ed Dumaual, a Filipino priest, commended in his homily that the crowd's enthusiasm was infectious. "Indeed, this is a very happy occasion," he said.

He told the couples: "When you say your partner's name is written in the palm of your hands, it means the bond is forever."

Weeks before couples walk down the aisle, their names are published in a wedding banns to check if any objections exist against the couples' union.

The couples are also asked to submit several papers - including a "freedom to marry" clearance from their home parishes, parental consent, a certificate of no record of marriage from authorities concerned and an authenticated birth certificate, among other things.

During the last eight years, more than 140 couples have been married in mass weddings at St Mary's. Of the 40-plus pairs who wanted to join last year, only 21 couples made it.

More than half of those who initially signified intention to join this year's batch backed out because they could not get their papers on time, according to Rondt Arcenilla, community programme director.

It was a modest event with a big heart - in which even the video and photo coverage, wedding souvenirs and gifts as well as wedding invitations are free.