Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
72 I do’s for Valentine’s Day
Couples of all ages exchange vows at National Croquet Center
You are never too old to get hitched, especially on Valentine’s Day with 35 other couples.
Joe Harrison, 77, was ready with his bride-to-be Tuesday, a woman he’s known since the day she was born 49 years ago.
He went to high school with her parents and was best friends with her father. He’s known her for decades, but when a mutual friend fell ill in October, their friendship blossomed into romance. During a trip to the beach, he asked her to marry him.
Harrison and Lydia Partington tied the knot at the National Croquet Center, an impeccably manicured venue in West Palm Beach surrounded by towering royal palm trees. There was only one catch — 35 other couples did the same.
“It sounded like it’d be fun, so I said, ‘Let’s do it,’” said Harrison, who lives in Boynton Beach.
Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock has held mass weddings on seven Valentine’s Days, marrying hundreds of people. The free event
gives couples a chance to save thousands of dollars.
It costs about $17,000 to reserve the National Croquet Center for a private ceremony with 100 guests and food and beverage, said Scott Reiser, director of events.
All of the vendors — from the florist to the DJ — donated their time to make Tuesday’s ceremony happen.
One woman married the man who delivered her cable box (it was love at first sight, she told the clerk’s office). Other couples were high school sweethearts. Many found love online, including sites like LatinLove and Tinder, a dating app where users can match if they like each other’s photo. One couple formed their bond in drug rehab.
The couples spanned in age from retirement to not being old enough to drink.
Partington said she didn’t have any regrets. She and her husband will live in Boynton Beach and Cleveland.
“You look around and you see people behind you and beside you, and there’s nothing but love in their eyes and commitment,” she said. “It’s a buoy. It makes you feel, ‘Of course, this is the right thing to do.’ It was a great day.”
At the ceremony Tuesday, the couples gathered on a patio, and Bock addressed them from a platform. The couples recited their vows and exchanged rings. Tears rolled down the cheeks of some. Bock declared them husband and wife.
“You may seal your marriage with this first kiss,” Bock told the couples. They kissed and then were treated with a Champagne toast.
Cory Bolick, 28, and Linney Ercolino, 20, of Boca Raton, said they’d been engaged for two years before the ceremony. They thought of going to the courthouse to get married, but then they saw the clerk’s office offered a Valentine’s Day wedding.
“Our whole relationship hasn’t been traditional, so we said, ‘Let’s go for it,’” Ercolino said.
They embraced each other after the ceremony. Ercolino held a rose and stood next to her husband.
“I feel good,” Bolick said. “I feel married.”