More than a dozen couples took their marriage ‘to go’ as the Town of Erin, Ont. hosted a one-day-only drive-thru wedding ceremony.
While it might not be the most traditional way of getting married, on Friday a total of 16 couples tied the knot in the town's first-ever drive-thru marriage service.
“It’s about what we want to do,” said Tina McPherson, who married her husband Darren at the drive-thru ceremony. “We want to join our lives together. It doesn’t matter how we do it, it’s who you do it with.”
The couples didn't need an appointment, just a valid marriage license and their love for one another.
The McPhersons ventured to Erin from nearby Caledon to tie the knot after more than nine years together. The entire ceremony was done from the comfort of their car.
They said they just wanted a simple ceremony after a trying year during which they lost their dog, Dakota, to cancer.
“Dakota is with us in spirit and she would be happy if she was here to congratulate us also,” the couple said.
Town officials said they came up with this unique way of saying “I do” after hearing couples from other municipalities were unable to get married due to a backlog of appointments.
“[People were] saying they can’t get licensing appointments, they can’t get ceremony appointments,” said Lisa Campion, director of legislative services and clerk with the Town Of Erin.
Other couples opted to add their own flair to the drive-thru wedding service. Sharon Manning and Kevin Telo rode in from Guelph on their motorcycle.
Newlyweds Manning and Telo said it’s because they love bikes, and since they have been together for 13 years it sounded like time to make it official.
The couples said this five-minute marriage service was just a perfect fit for them and their family.
“We were going to a city hall anyways but this is cooler, something to talk about, something different,” said newlyweds Sarah and Greg Holtz-Young.
The newlyweds also got a gift bag from the town filled with donations from local businesses.
“This just really felt personal and it wasn’t that whole setting up those big weddings and worrying about everybody else… it was about us and the family,” said Amadeo Ventura and Luciana De Santis following their drive-thru service.
For others, the day was about watching others get married.
Matteo De Santis-Ventura’s parents got hitched at the drive-thru wedding.
“They were really happy. I saw the happiness, they were excited to get married and that made me feel good,” said De Santis-Ventura.
“It re-sparked something we’ve known we had for a very long time,” Amadeo Ventura and Luciana De Santis said together before sharing a kiss.
