Valentine's Day weddings more memorable
Holidays will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Agne Joncaide and Audrius Cepronas.
Four years ago on Easter Sunday, they were introduced by mutual friends. On Friday, Valentine's Day, the Barrington couple married during a midday ceremony officiated by Cook County Judge Martin Agran at the Third Municipal District courthouse in Rolling Meadows.
They were one of three couples whose weddings took place on what many consider the most romantic day of the year. It's a day Joncaide, 32, and Cepronas, 38, will never forget.
"The step you are about to take is the most important two human beings can make," said Cook County Judge Martin Agran as he began the ceremony, attended by the couple's parents and their children. Their daughter was the flower girl. Their sons, each from a former marriage, served as best men.
"We're going to remember this for all time," said Cepronas.
Indeed, a Valentine's Day wedding date is pretty hard to forget. That's kind of the point. But there are other advantages, like only having to buy one gift, joked Carlos Negrete, 34.
Negrete, 34, and Carolina Pichardo, 38, began dating 11 years ago on Feb. 14, which lends even more significance to the Mount Prospect couple's Valentine wedding.
They decided to marry for "the love of their family," said Pichardo, who - in honor of the holiday - defied tradition and chose a bordeaux-colored gown.
Agran performed the ceremony in Spanish while about a dozen friends and family members looked on.
As the couple exited the courtroom, one of their friends, pastor Oddly Giraldo, hummed "Here Comes the Bride."