When Martha Hurtado and Louis Garcia decided a few weeks ago to get married on Saturday, Feb. 29, they were looking for a Saturday when friends and family could join them at the Old Orange County Courthouse in Santa Ana.
“I didn’t realize it was a leap year,” Hurtado said. But the couple went ahead on booked the appointment with the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s Office and joined 147 couples who were married on Saturday and now technically won’t have an anniversary day until 2024. Another 50 or so couples got their marriage licenses with the leap day date.
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County of Orange Clerk-Recorder Hugh Nguyen smiles after marrying Elizabeth Vu and Kinh La-Pham as the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office tries to set a new record for the number of marriage ceremonies/licenses issued on this year’s leap day, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 in Santa Ana. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
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Couples, Siliargyn Cheng, left, Zeyuan Xu and Katherine and Simon Borja wait in the hallway to get married as the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office tries to set a new record for the number of marriage ceremonies/licenses issued on this year’s leap day, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 in Santa Ana. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
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Wearing a traditional Tongan clothing, Taliuaki Suliafu and Saipele Sala and Marine Corp 1st Lieutenant Patrick D. Hudie and Loren Aguirre wait in the hallway to get married as the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office tries to set a new record for the number of marriage ceremonies/licenses issued on this year’s leap day, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 in Santa Ana. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
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Bride, Katherine Navarre greets people outside the old Orange County Courthouse before getting married as the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office tries to set a new record for the number of marriage ceremonies/licenses issued on this year’s leap day, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 in Santa Ana. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
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David and Rosy Sevilla kiss after getting married as the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office tries to set a new record for the number of marriage ceremonies/licenses issued on this year’s leap day, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 in Santa Ana. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
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Couples register to get married as the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office tries to set a new record for the number of marriage ceremonies/licenses issued on this year’s leap day, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 in Santa Ana. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
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David and Rosy Sevilla catch a moment alone while they wait to get married as the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office tries to set a new record for the number of marriage ceremonies/licenses issued on this year’s leap day, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 in Santa Ana. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
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Over a hundred people pour into the old Orange County Courthouse as the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office tries to set a new record for the number of marriage ceremonies/licenses issued on this year’s leap day, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 in Santa Ana. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
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People greet each other inside the old Orange County Courthouse as the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office tries to set a new record for the number of marriage ceremonies/licenses issued on this year’s leap day, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 in Santa Ana. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
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County of Orange Clerk-Recorder Hugh Nguyen, left, smiles after marrying Elizabeth Vu and Kinh La-Pham as the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office tries to set a new record for the number of marriage ceremonies/licenses issued on this year’s leap day, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 in Santa Ana. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
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Roxana and Marcelino Heredia, followed by their wedding party, step into the courthouse to get married as the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office tries to set a new record for the number of marriage ceremonies/licenses issued on this year’s leap day, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 in Santa Ana. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
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Couple have their photo taken in front of the old Orange County Courthouse as the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office tries to set a new record for the number of marriage ceremonies/licenses issued on this year’s leap day, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 in Santa Ana. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
The office is the only of its kind in California to open on some Saturdays, so people who work on weekdays don’t have to take time off to get married or conduct other business with the county office, said Clerk-Recorder Hieu Nguyen.
And given that leap day this year fell on a Saturday for the first time since 1992, Nguyen said it was a no-brainer to have the office open for couples to tie the knot on a notable date.
“This will be the busiest Saturday in seven years,” Nguyen said.
Amid the crowd of brides and grooms and their families and friends taking photos at the courthouse were Elizabeth Vu of Westminster and Kinh La-Pham of Fountain Valley.
With Nguyen conducting the ceremony in Courtroom No. 1, Vu and La-Pham shared a kiss as they celebrated their first moment of marriage.
They had started dating in the leap year of 2016. So, Vu asked: Why not get married on a leap day?
“Let’s take a leap of faith. Let’s do it,” Vu said.
The couple first met through online dating, Vu said. A few months into dating, Vu had to have her four wisdom teeth taken out by an oral surgeon at La-Pham’s office. La-Pham, a dentist himself, offered to drive Vu to the appointment, she said.
That’s when Vu said she knew La-Pham was a keeper – the fact he’s great cooking on the grill is only icing on the cake.
“The fact he cares. I am used to caring for myself,” she said. “It’s different to have someone care for me.”
They got engaged in September while on vacation in Hawaii, La-Pham said.
When Vu told him not to propose on the trip – everyone proposes in Hawaii – La-Pham said said he knew he had his chance to surprise her.
Under the ruse of taking photos La-Pham took Vu out to Bellows Air Force Station. Once they got there, he surprised her by dropping to one knee.
“It was so typical,” Vu said. “But it was perfect. It was magical.”
Hawaii will be the destination for Hurtado and Garcia’s big marriage ceremony in October. But they said they wanted to have the courthouse nuptials now because Hurtado’s dad, Javier, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a year ago.
Dad cried as he watched his daughter marry Garcia.
“We wanted it so he could experience this as soon as possible,” Hurtado said.
Still, as she was driving to the courthouse Saturday morning, she said the significance of the day wasn’t lost on her. It confirms her love for someone who “loves me and is willing to show me that,” she said.
“I had butterflies, driving,” Hurtado said. “It’s a reality check. This is real. This is forever. There is no going back.”
from https://ift.tt/2wcOQlj Orange County Register https://ift.tt/2I4bUFF
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