David Vargas and his wife, Daryenis, dance hours after they got married with 14 other migrant couples Friday night on the Far North Side.
Anxious brides put on wedding dresses, fixed each other’s makeup and adjusted their veils and tiaras on Friday inside a classroom at Park Community Church in Chicago.
One of the brides, Yamileth Parra, said she is staying at a migrant shelter with her partner, Heber Guillen, and their two kids. She is excited to finally marry her partner of 15 years.
She said she loves her gown, which although borrowed, fits her well. The mermaid-style dress is tight to the body, with the sleeves falling on both sides, yet it accentuates her waist.
Once ready, Parra helped another bride zip up her dress.
The brides and grooms came together for a non-traditional wedding ceremony. Fifteen couples — mostly from Venezuela — exchanged their vows and tied the knot.
The nuptials marked a new stage in the lives of the 30 newly arrived asylum-seekers after a long and tiring journey from South America. Some couples said they had postponed their wedding because getting married in Venezuela is expensive and the paperwork is cumbersome.
Formalizing their commitment through marriage has important legal, health and immigration benefits, but the couples who got married Friday said they wanted to solidify their relationship through the church. They prepared for several months, taking classes and getting counseling. More than 150 people witnessed the life-changing moment.
To pull off the event, the couples chipped in about $150 each and ended with a budget of $2,500. An asylum-seeker catered the food — chicken with rice, pasta, salad and other meat dishes. The table centerpieces were recycled from other events, and the cakes came from the grocery store but were redecorated with roses.
Brides gathered about seven hours before their wedding ceremony to share their personal makeup and hair care products.
Liliana Parra shows the rings she will exchange with her husband. The brides and grooms all took faith-based couples classes before the wedding.
Kaira Estrada uses WhatsApp to show her mother in Venezuela the dress she’ll be wearing during her wedding. All of the dresses and suits were donated, thrifted or borrowed.
The children of some of the 15 migrant couples watch television as their parents prepare to get married. Details of the wedding were planned months ago, with many items being donated or reused from other weddings and events.
Brides gathered moments before walking down the aisle to meet their future husbands.
Daughters of the some of the migrant couples set to be wed entertained themselves by watching shows and playing games on iPads as their parents got ready for the ceremony.
David Vargas (left) helps Yorfran Chirinos knot a tie hours before the ceremony.
Ed Kraal, the pastor at Iglesia Cristiana La Vid, officiates the wedding of 15 migrant couples. The church has provided the migrants with housing and other resources. Each couple was asked to come up with $150 to help pay for the limited costs of the wedding.
Luis and Crucelis Rodriguez share their first kiss as a married couple after the nearly two-and-a-half hour ceremony.
The newly married brides throw their bouquets hours after they were married.
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