Dozens of couples tied the knot during free mass wedding ceremonies held on the steps of the Bexar County Courthouse on this Valentine's Day.
Bexar County Clerk Lucy Adame-Clark presided over the ceremonies.
Shweta Jain exchanged vows with Aatish Pate, who she met online.
"Well, it's Valentine's Day, and he can't forget the anniversary for the rest of his life," she said with a smile.
It was a bittersweet day for the new Angela and Jorge Gamez because the bride's sister was recently killed in a traffic accident on I-10. She crashed into a pylon while trying to avoid a motorcycle driving erratically on the freeway.
Gamez hoped police can arrest the culprit.
"She's with us in spirit," she said, "and so we decided to come and go ahead follow through with what we were planning."
She said she first met her future husband when he worked for her father.
The couples' advice for those of us still looking for love is "don't give up." They said love struck after patience and perseverance.
The county clerk said the pandemic could not stop love, based on the workload in the marriage department of her office.
“The pandemic did not really stop the marriage license department," she explained, "but it's added more this year,” referring to marriage licenses.
A marriage license through the county runs $81, but couples can receive a discounted license of $21 if they take a togetherness class offered through the county clerk’s office.
Adame-Clark said wedding officiants can charge anywhere from $25 to $500 to preside over a single ceremony, so she is happy to do the same for free on Valentine’s Day.
The county clerk's office holds the marriage licenses of Alamo defender James Bowie and country music legend Johnny Cash.
