It鈥檚 Oct. 15, 2016 and there鈥檚 a storm warning. The remnants of Typhoon Songda have made their way to southern B.C. But friends and family dressed in their finest braved the weather and made their way to East 麻豆传媒映画to attend a mass wedding of 15 couples.
In the sanctuary of St. Mary鈥檚 Parish, Father Pierre LeBlond stands in front of 28 more brides and grooms than he鈥檚 used to. 鈥淚鈥檝e never done this before,鈥� he said.
Apparently, neither has the city. Fifteen couples is a record, according to Vancouver鈥檚 archdiocese. Though in the Philippines, where many of the couples are originally from, mass weddings are common. Two thousand couples got married there on Valentine鈥檚 Day in 2012.
The 15 couples at St. Mary鈥檚 have been married before in civil ceremonies and some even have children. However, they haven鈥檛 been married in a church. As Catholics, they wanted to tie the knot with God鈥檚 blessing.
鈥淚t was the only thing missing for us,鈥� said Sherly Heck, a former caregiver who got married 18 years ago in front of her employer鈥檚 fireplace.
Today, she鈥檚 even wearing the same dress. It fits perfectly.
It鈥檚 raining outside, but no one鈥檚 bothered. Fifteen love stories are about to reach a new chapter, stories like a factory encounter in Taiwan, a bar friendship in Burnaby and an office romance in the Philippines government.
Taoyuan, Taiwan. 1998.
Eusebio Noynay met Jiffy on the production floor of Acer鈥檚 computer factory. He did repairs; she made parts. Both were from the Philippines.
Eusebio would see her when he repaired faulty motherboards.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 how our relationship developed,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e got free food and housing, but life was so boring there. The company wanted us to work on our days off, and we worked to send money to our families. But sometimes we got out and explored Taipei, the big city.鈥�
And what drew Jiffy to Eusebio? 鈥淗e鈥檚 one of the tallest in the company,鈥� she said.
Joking aside, their relationship was tested by distance.
Eventually, Jiffy went back to the Philippines and Eusebio ended up in Canada. They were apart for three years, though in between, they got married in 2003.
鈥淚 wanted to prove we had a future together, even though I was in Canada,鈥� said Eusebio. 鈥淚 would call her, email, text. I still have a box of our letters and cards.鈥�
In 2005, Jiffy joined him in Canada, and today, three of their kids are about to watch mom and dad say their wedding vows.
All thanks to faulty motherboards.
Burnaby, Canada. 2006.
Iona and Kelly Matiowsky were drinking buddies at the Firefighters鈥� Public House. He was the manager; she was a customer.
鈥淚 was just one of the boys,鈥� said Iona. 鈥淗e鈥檇 tease me, like a kid in kindergarten. He kept saying, 鈥榃hy don鈥檛 you like me?鈥欌��
Kelly had this to share: 鈥淲e were both in our 40s, and things work a bit differently in the timeline of how you proceed.鈥�
Six years later...
鈥淚 saw him individually,鈥� said Iona, 鈥渁nd he was actually a very nice person! He was responsible, funny, and smart. So wasn鈥檛 just into teasing girls after all! He could actually be a gentleman, and be romantic.
鈥淚 fell very strongly for him. One of the things he did for me was prepare a Ukrainian Christmas meal for me. He prepared cabbage rolls, perogies and pirozhki 鈥� little buns cooked with ham and cheese and onions 鈥� and he prepared it with candlelight, flowers and everything.鈥�
They were married in 2014.
The department of transportation and communications, Philippines. 1990.
Gerardo Magpoc was the executive assistant of the secretary; Renida was an accountant.
Gerardo sent flowers to Renida a few times a week, so many that he got the nickname 鈥渢he gardener.鈥�
A romance began, but soon, Gerardo was transferred to the office of the president for a more demanding position.
鈥淚 guess the stress of not seeing nor talking to each other for several weeks took a toll on our budding relationship, so we called it quits,鈥� said Renida.
In 1999, Renida travelled to Rome and visited the Trevi Fountain.
鈥淥ur guide said if you toss one coin into the fountain, you鈥檇 come back to Rome, two coins and you鈥檇 get married, and three if you want a divorce,鈥� she said.
She tossed in one coin.
Sure enough, Renida returned in 2001. But this time, she thought of Gerardo, who she had recently reconnected with, thanks to the advent of cellphones.
She tossed in two coins. They were civilly married later that year.
State of the union
In western countries, marriages are on the decline, and when they do happen, they鈥檙e happening later. That鈥檚 what a 2007 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research in Massachusetts has found.
As for why, the study gives many answers. A slowly closing gender wage gap. Birth control. Liberal divorce laws. Cohabitation. Even the advancement of washing machine technology, which made men less likely to marry low-earning women to do chores and gave more women time to pursue careers.
The change is reflected in our censuses. In 1961, married couples accounted for about 92 per cent of Canadian families. In 2011, the stat dropped to 67 per cent due to the rise of common-law couples (the 麻豆传媒映画stat is about the same).
Even the Pope is more liberal now. At the Vatican in 2014, Pope Francis conducted a mass wedding for 20 couples. Some were already living together, and one woman was a mother, formerly married. Traditionalists might consider this sin.
Back at St. Mary鈥檚 鈥� as a little girl munches on cheese crackers in the pews and another boy eats a sandwich 鈥� Father LeBlond gives a nod to the Bishop of Rome.
鈥淚 know Pope Francis would rejoice if he knew about today, but we forgot to invite him,鈥� he said.
听
As a song plays, Sherly Heck cries tears of joy. A woman rushes to her with Kleenex.
Sherly collects herself for the vows.
鈥淚鈥檓 sorry it took so long for this!鈥� she said to her husband Joseph. 鈥淚 marry you with no hesitation or doubt. May we have adventures and grow together.鈥�
In a church beneath the storm, they kiss.
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