Judges rule on love
Couples say ‘I do’ on Valentine’s Day at courthouse
NORRISTOWN>> With love in their eyes as they said, ‘I do,” Aaron Eugene and Lauren Simmons of Schwenksville exchanged vows during a special Valentine’s Day event at the Montgomery County Courthouse.
“Marriage is perhaps the most important choice a person can make in his or her life. You have made that choice and stand here ready to take the vow. That vow is a promise that each of you is making to the other, a promise that says for the rest of your lives you will love, you will cherish, you will take care of your spouse,” Judge Risa Vetri Ferman addressed the smiling couple.
Simmons, a graduate of Perkiomen Valley High School and West Chester University, wore a white dress and Eugene, formerly of
Miami, wore a red tuxedo and joyfully held their son, Aaron II, who wore little red shoes, during the Valentine’s Day ceremony.
“Valentine’s Day is a special day filled with love. This is a special day for us,” the bride beamed.
“Valentine’s Day is filled with love and joy, a day to cherish the love,” Eugene added.
There’s another advantage to gettingmarried on Valentine’s Day, Eugene admitted.
“You can’t forget your anniversary. You can’t forget to get a gift. It’s a good reminder,” Eugene laughed. “It’s a good choice to get married on Valentine’s Day.”
The couple was glad the judge could be part of their milestone and said Ferman, who wore red patent pumps in honor of the holiday, made their day “very special.” Eugene praised the county bench for showing kindness and giving back to the community through the special Valentine’s Day event that saw 20 couples exchange vows on the traditional day of love.
“As judges we see people who are dealing with trauma every day, whether you’re in family court or criminal court. With Valentine’s Day approaching, we thought it would be a heartwarming and uplifting way to spend the day, to join people in matrimony on what could be the most significant day of their lives,” Ferman said.
Many of the couples, who braved the glare of television cameras and reporters as witnesses to their nuptials, learned about the special programvia a flyer that was posted in the county’s marriage license office.
Most of the ceremonies were held in the ceremonial courtroom, whichwas decorated with vases filled with red roses. Ferman, Judge Joseph P. Walsh and Judge Garrett D. Page alternated performing the ceremonies. However, other judges, including Judge Gail A. Weilheimer, Judge Carolyn T. Carluccio and Judge Cheryl L. Austin also presided over nuptials in their individual courtrooms.
A table of sweets and desserts was arranged by the judges’ staff members, who enjoyed witnessing the exchanges of love. Russian and Korean translators were needed for two of the ceremonies.
“It was just a great event,” said Walsh, who presided over his first wedding since being installed as a judge last September. “It’s nice to see people leaving the courthouse in a good mood. There’s not a lot of happy people sometimes here at the courthouse. So to be able to do something like this and to see the love that people have for each other and do something really positive, it’s just a great thing. And to do it on a day like this just makes it extra special.”
Ian Drake and Christina Manning, of Conshohocken, exchanged vows as Manning’s parents looked on with pride.
“You started this day as just two people in love and ended as husband andwife. It’s a brand new beginning, the start of a journey,” Page told Drake and Manning.
The couple’s journey will include a honeymoon in Paris.
“We’re going to celebrate Valentine’s Day every day,” Drake said.
Leamon Sutton Jr. and his new wife, Shirley, of Philadelphia, beamed with love and pride after Walsh, whowore a red tie under his black robe, pronounced they were married and signed their marriage certificate.
“Marriage is a most sacred bond uniting two people,” Walsh told the couple during the ceremony, which also included a reading from William Shakespeare’ s Sonnet 116, commonly referred to as the “Marriage Sonnet.”
The Suttons said they were ready to celebrate their union after the fiveminute ceremony.
“It’s Valentine’s Day and she’s been my friend, my lover and now she’s my wife and it’s one day that I won’t forget. I’ll always remember it,” Leamon Sutton said.
Jason Finegold and Susan Anderson of Elkins Park exchanged vows before Ferman.
“We’re here because I fell in love with Susan, moved from New York to Philadelphia. We wanted to get married and we weren’t sure when,” Finegold said, recalling the couple initially considered a ceremony to coincide with the date in May that he proposed three years ago. “I think we just became impatient. We just wanted to get married.”
When Finegold and Anderson obtained their marriage license at county offices they learned about the court’s Valentine’sDay event.
“Both of us didn’t expect the other would go for it, we thought it was too cliché. But then we looked at each other and she’s like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, definitely, I can’t wait,’” Fi- negold said as his new bride laughed with joy by his side. “It’s a wonderful day. The judge couldn’t have been lovelier. She’s just wonderful. It’s a perfect day.”
“It’s simple. I didn’t want anything too overdone. I just wanted us,” said Anderson, whose friend accompanied the couple as a witness to the nuptials.
Stephanie Castillo, a native of the Dominican Republic, and Thaddeus Kalinoski, of West Chester, saw a news report promoting the county’s Valentine’s Day matrimonial event.
“Therewas attraction before the news but that’s how we got here,” Kalinoski said jokingly, recalling the couple’s decision to wed.
“It was a wonderful experience and we are blessed to be here today,” Castillo added.
Walsh said he grew up reading news accounts of Judge Bernard Goodheart of Philadelphia marrying couples at CityHall as a Valentine’s Day tradition.
“I remember growing up as a kid in Philadelphia and always seeing it on the news on Valentine’s Day so I thought it would be neat to