On a romantic evening in which 500 couples had signed up in advance to renew their wedding vows, the overwhelming display of love at Lincoln Center gave Mayor Eric Adams, who has never been married, a fear of missing out.
“Congratulations to you all!” Adams said as he addressed the crowd. “You now make me want to get married!”
What You Need To Know
- Roughly 500 married couples signed up in advance to participate in a shared commitment ceremony to renew vows at Lincoln Center
- Organizers wanted to give married couples and longtime spouses the chance to celebrate the power of love after the pandemic caused many weddings to get postponed, canceled or compromised
- Organizers said the ceremony was symbolic but not legally binding
Organizers say with the pandemic causing so many weddings to be canceled, postponed or compromised because of social distancing rules, they wanted to offer a special day — in which newlyweds and longtime spouses could recommit their love not only to their partners but to New York City.
The commitment ceremony was part of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City.
Ginnette Polanco of Corona, Queens said after having to downsize her wedding in October 2020 from over 70 people to about 15 people because of COVID-19 restrictions, she and her husband were overjoyed.
The couple got to share their second chance at having a special wedding day with hundreds of other couples, even though organizers said this commitment ceremony was not legally binding.
“It works!” Polanco said. “It works because at the end of the day we had our day!”
Debra Lewis-Boothman of Prospect-Lefferts Gardens has known her husband Colin for 27 years and they’ve been married the last 16 years. While the longtime couple never thought they would take part in a renewal of vows, they say the pandemic and the couples-only nature of this event changed their tune.
“It feels good to be amongst other people celebrating love,” Lewis-Boothman said. “I think that’s the big takeaway. And of course to NYC, of all places.”
This celebration also gave their teenage children the unexpected chance to watch their parents renew their vows.