A Riverside couple went viral this week after showing up to Saturday’s “No Kings Day” protest in their wedding attire shortly before saying “I do.”
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Eric Pena and Tiara Gonzalez began planning their June 14 wedding at the Riverside Art Museum a year and a half ago. They didn’t find out about the massive protest that would swallow downtown Riverside until a few days in advance – but they didn’t let it change their plans.
“Both knowing how we feel about the situation and what’s going on, it was just like, it’s meant to be for us to, you know, walk down Riverside and, you know, represent our community and our people,” Pena told KNX News’ Margaret Carrero.
Gonzalez said it was “empowering” to see how many people turned out for the protest. The newlyweds both agreed that being part of the demonstration made their wedding day more special.
“I think also, both of us being Hispanic, you know, was like, this is our community, you know, our roots,” Gonzalez said. “I think it made it definitely more special because, you know, it was about more than us.”
Video of the couple walking through the protest with their wedding party has since gone viral, reaching over two million views on TikTok. Pena said he was surprised by how much the video took off.
“On the day of our wedding, we were just so focused on our wedding day,” he said. “We heard little comments about like, ‘You guys are getting a lot of views,’ but we weren't really blown away until maybe the next day. We were like, oh damn, like, people are watching us, you know, from all over the place.”
Neither of the couple had ever been to a protest before this one, but they both agreed they see themselves attending more in the future.
Gonzalez and Pena’s wedding registry can be found here.
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