Free weddings in downtown Vancouver attract more than 100 people
Couples looking to save time and money showed up with their wedding licence in hand
More than a hundred people showed up in downtown Vancouver Sunday to get married at a "pop-up wedding" event at Robson Square.
Once a year, Love in the Square offers free weddings for couples who may not be able to afford to say "I do."
"It's just a way for us to give back to the community," said lead planner Holly Anne Halter.
On average, Canadian couples spend more than $30,000 on a wedding.
But the event also serves those who perhaps don't like to plan in advance.
"A pop-up wedding is kind of a fancy elopement," Halter said.
Such was the case for brides Shawna Pentilla and Becky Clark, who have been together for 11 years.
"We're very spontaneous," Pentilla said. "We heard it on the radio and she kind of looked at me and was like, do you want to go and do that?"
"We don't like to plan," Clark said .
"Weddings are expensive," Pentilla added.
Spontaneity was also a factor for groom Jeff Chung and his bride — she declined to be shown on camera.
The couple has been together almost 16 years.
"It rubber-stamps the relationship, I guess, because we've been together so long we're practically married," Chung said.
The couple met during a paintball game.
"She shot me, and so we sat down and started talking, and that's how we blossomed from here," he said.
But the financial aspect of not holding a traditional ceremony was also a draw for the pair.
"We think money's better spent another way rather than having a full-on wedding," said Chung, adding he and his bride were buying themselves a car later that day.
Just getting 'er done was also a common theme throughout the day, including for bride Ailish O'Neill.
"We decided it's time. We have the house, we have the kid, we have the business, it's just kind of silly not to be married," she said.
"We don't like the fuss of a wedding ... Get it over and done with."
O'Neill said she and her partner, Scott Barnes, had been engaged for four years.
The couple brought their dog to the ceremony, and a friend brought their two-year-old daughter later on.
All couples had to bring to Robson Square was a marriage licence to be married at the event, which has been running since 2015 and always coincides with Valentine's Day.
Last year, 77 couples were married at Robson Square.
With files from Deborah Goble
