More than 600 couples exchanged their vows at the same time on 27th Sept. in Asunción, Paraguay. Thousands uttered “I do” in unison as part of a nationwide effort by the government to popularize civil weddings.
The initiative, entitled “United by Love and Protected by Law,” seeks to make the relationships where couples opt out of marriage legal due to financial or bureaucratic reasons, excluding them from receiving benefits like social security, pensions, and inheritance rights.
The first lady’s office and the Civil Registry made weddings for long-term couples who are vulnerable a priority. Almost half of the brides brought their children to the wedding.
It was time to get married,” said Jonathan Garay, who has been living with his girlfriend, Fiorella Rivera, for six years. The couple can now look forward to a family gathering and their honeymoon.
“We had the chance and we seized it,” Rivera said in an interview with The Associated Press, noting that it was important “to legalize everything.
120 couples also wed in a mass ceremony in Ciudad del Este last week. Earlier this year, another wedding took place in Boquerón, where for the first time, Indigenous couples were wed without charge.
“The number of individuals enrolled in this campaign indicates that Paraguay does believe in love, does believe in family, and does believe in formalizing marriage,” stated Roque Strubing, communications director of the Civil Registry.
Vice President Pedro Alliana congratulated the couples on X, stating, “all Paraguayans have access to the right to formalize their union.”
The ceremony packed the National Sports Secretariat gymnasium with couples attired in every hue, with families observing in the stands. Most couples were blessed by religious leaders, one Catholic and one Protestant.
The newlywed couples departed with marriage certificates and small tokens.
