New York's Lincoln Center painted in shades of love as 700 couples tie the knot in mass wedding

July 8 was a special day for a lot of couples, thanks to a mass wedding that took place at New York’s Lincoln Center. The venue was a sight to be in awe of, with faux flowers hung from the balconies and brides holding bouquets of roses and wildflowers, according to ny1.com. About 700 couples reached the location in New York to make their love for each other official. Some were getting married for the first time while some others were there to renew their vows.

Hazel Seivwright-Carney and her husband Rohan Carney had eloped many years ago and there were present at the venue. The bride said, “When we eloped 28 years ago, my mom did have a chance to see us married.” The mother was waiting patiently to see her daughter getting married to the person she loved. The event was called, “New York’s Biggest Day” and is part of the Lincoln Center’s “Summer for the City” program, which includes hundreds of free, festival-type affairs and including the mass wedding, reports New York Post.

Reportedly, no one legally got married during the festivities which were hosted by comedian Murray Hill but the guests were guided through a number of multicultural, love-themed blessings and messages from a Sikh, a Korean Shaman, and others at the venue. This was the second year of the annual event at the Lincoln Center. The reason behind it was that so many weddings had been delayed because of the pandemic so the center officials thought that it would help Covid-fatigued couples to finally get married.

Due to the success of the last year’s event, the organizers decided to do it again this year. “We started doing this last year, right after the pandemic and we felt it was a time for all of us to come together,” said Shanta Thake, the center's chief artistic officer. “There was so much to be sad about and mourn. It’s also important for us to have these rituals together.” As a couple, Alexander Fischer and his partner, Nina Oishi, wanted to express their commitment to each other before moving to different cities to start clerkships. They met each other while studying law school at Yale.

Oishi said, “It felt like such a New York thing to do" and added: "We know we’re going to get married, so why not get a chance to celebrate it now before we're apart?” Their families didn’t know about it. “Our parents would obviously be very upset to miss the real one,” she said. Mirian Masaquiza saw the event as a great opportunity to “strengthen her team” with her husband, Oscar. So, she brought him and their two children to the event. “I was more happy about it,” she said. “He was like, OK, I will do it.” Archley Prudent and his husband have been married for 12 years since gay marriage became legal in New York. He said that they jumped at the chance thinking that they would have a proper wedding later. “And then 12 years passed by. ... So many other things happened in between so we never got around to it,” said Prudent.

Their decision to be part of the nuptials on July 8, was also a spur of the moment. “I got so excited when this came up and asked, 'Why don't we reaffirm our love?'" He said: "I'm thinking about everybody attending, and how we have something in common," and added: "We’re doing this because I think we all love each other. We all care for each other, and we want to celebrate that.”