At rites mayor calls ‘masked wedding,’ 5 Kidapawan couples tie knot

No frills. A couple wearing masks exchange marriage vows in Kidapawan City amid quarantine measures that toned the ceremony down. PHOTO FROM KIDAPAWAN PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE

KIDAPAWAN CITY — Five couples got married in simple civil rights on Wednesday here in ceremonies described by the mayor as a “mask wedding,” a play on mass wedding.

Mayor Joseph Evangelista officiated the mass wedding in front of city hall.

The couples, wedding sponsors and the few guests were required to wear masks and wash or sanitize their hands before entering the wedding venue.

Seats were set several meters apart to heed social distancing protocol.

In a speech, Evangelista reminded the couples that marriage was a “lifetime contract.”

He also reminded the newly weds about the Family Code and advised them against inflicting physical harm on each other, which would be a violation of law.

As the couples were declared husbands and wives, there was no traditional “kiss the bride” scene, in deference to health protocols.

The grooms, however, blew kisses toward their brides, sending the small crowd that gathered to witness the wedding to giggles.

The couples who wed were Roque Orillanes and Ailyn Madriñan, Eldie Bucio and Ivy Rose Gadat, Lyndon Arombo and Emmalyn Leong, Roel Sibate and Genevieve Mejio and Nyl John Dano and Shaira Magallanes, all residents of Kidapawan.
At the end of the ceremony, the mayor handed envelopes with cash to each of the new wives, saying the money was to be used when they were in dire straits.

Lifetime deal. A couple sign their marriage contract after a mass wedding officiated by Mayor Joseph Evangelista. PHOTO FROM KIDAPAWAN PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE

Edited by TSB