Hitching Post
County to offer marriage ceremonies at courthouse

By Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Romance will be in the air today as dozens of couples tie the knot on Valentine's Day.

For the third year in a row, county officials are opening up the rotunda at the new county government building and will be marrying one couple after another throughout the day. Last year, 84 couples signed up to be hitched, following 40 weddings in 2005, the first year the county had the event.

County clerk officials are running the show and spent Tuesday putting up floral arrangements and other wedding decorations, including a flowered arch for photos.

By noon Tuesday, 27 couples had signed up to be married before Judge Tommy Nelson and had received appointment times to be at the county courthouse.

No more than 40 couples would be given appointments, but Louis Ledezma, a deputy in the county clerk's office, said walk-ins would be accommodated Wednesday as well, as long as they have a valid marriage certificate.

County officials are hoping that it will go better than last year when the couples, along with friends and family members, created so much congestion that the fire marshal was called. He explained that there had to be a safety corridor that would give people access to the elevator and other floors.

It became somewhat of an assembly-line operation, with each couple allotted five to seven minutes for the actual wedding ceremony; however, Ledezma said this usually ends up being about 10 minutes after family and friends take their photos of the new bride and groom with the judge and best man.

Last year, 20 couples decided to forgo the ceremony because of the wait and 12 couples became part of a mass wedding ceremony that took place at 5:30 p.m.

But Valentine's Day is not only for those who want to get married.

In the past, many couples just married showed up to get a chance to have their photos taken with the floral arrangements to create a photo record for their kids and grandkids.

"They want something that they could not afford at their own weddings," Ledezma said.