Many Couples Choose Santa Ana Courthouse To Get Hitched On Valentine's Day
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — The Old Courthouse in Santa Ana was filled with lots of couples starting out their new lives as married folks.
CBS2's Joy Benedict said the building was filled with flowers, loved ones and dancing children.
For the dozens of couples gathered, marrying on Valentine's was no accident.
"My parents were married on Valetine's Day, and so were my grandparents," said DeAnn Spicer.
DeAnn Spicer and Jim Bertella showed up before the courthouse even opened. They were ready to tie the knot after seven years as a couple.
"There wasn't really a proposal," she said, "It was more like, 'We're gonna do this, right? Okay. And we'd been joking about it all week. I didn't think he was serious. And he was."
Several of the couples told Benedict the nuptials were relatively last minute -- but when you know, you just know.
"We actually decided to get married last week," said groom Gonzalo Contreras.
"We just wanted to get married as soon as possible, it's faster [at the courthouse]," said Rocio Contreras.
Mike Ortiz was planning to get married next month, in Cancun, but Valentine's Day could not be denied.
"We said, 'You know what, why not come to court on this day and get married today?'" Ortiz explained.
Santa Ana wasn't the only place where couples were making it official and legal. All three O.C. courthouses were open for business. More than 200 couples in all became spouses.
For DeAnn Spicer it didn't matter where she got married.
"I wanna spend the rest of my life with him," she said about her new hubby, "I wanna be old with him."