We had the privilege of attending the wedding ceremonies of a young couple here in Arequipa. Yolanda Arce married Franco Barriga on Friday, October 29th, and on Saturday, October 30th. Why, you may ask, did they marry on 2 different days? In Peru, any couple, wishing to marry, must be married by a government official. This is called the civil ceremony. On Friday, a group of Yolanda & Franco's family and friends accompanied them to the local district municipal office for their civil ceremony.
The requirement of a civil ceremony may seem a little odd to you, but according to veteran missionary to Peru, Chris Gardner, it was originally instituted for the people who wanted to marry outside of the Catholic church. Before the civil ceremony was instituted, a couple was only legally married if they were married in the Catholic church. Now there are several days each year in which couples join together in large groups and the government official will perform the civil ceremony for many in the local park. Those who wish for a more private ceremony may pay to have their civil ceremony performed in the office of the local government official.
Because Yolanda & Franco are Christians, they wanted to also have a Christian ceremony. On Saturday, they were married in a Christian ceremony at Iglesia Bautista Omega or Omega Baptist Church. It was a beautiful ceremony. Katie was a bridesmaid or "dama" in Spanish. We were very honored to be included at this special time in their lives.
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