Wedding Wednesdays resume, couples say 'I do' at LOVE Park

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Love is in the air — specifically, every half hour on Wednesdays.

The city is back with Wedding Wednesdays, offering couples the chance to wed in front of the LOVE statue every half hour on two Wednesdays a month between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

A group of foreign exchange students happened to stroll through the park and witnessed the first wedding of the day — and of the 2019 season — between groom Kuzell Bivins and bride Ikea Faust.

"I was caught up in the moment and I looked up and saw all the people," said Bivins. "It was nice."

"It was great, because he’s the love of my life," added Faust, "so it could have been anywhere. ... This is just the best day of my life."

Bivins said they initially considered a more traditional venue.

"Then we thought about LOVE Park — we said, 'Let's just do it. ... We've been together 15 years. It's now or never. Let's go.' "

Katherine Ott Lovell, commissioner of Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, explained Wedding Wednesdays is a partnership between her department and the Register of Wills.

"It’s really catching on," she said, "and people are getting wise to the idea that it’s pretty easy to get married in LOVE Park" instead of City Hall.

The city hosts Wedding Wednesdays for 12 couples a month. To sign up, couples must go in-person to the Register of Wills, Room 413 in City Hall, on the first Tuesday of the month with the proper documents. The office opens at 8 a.m.

The next opportunity for nuptials is May 8, and Mayor Jim Kenney and City Council President Darrell Clarke will be officiating.

"That’ll be a big day when we’ll have a flower truck out here and we’ll decorate the LOVE sculpture," said Ott Lovell. "We’ll have old-fashioned typewriters so that people can write love letters, so we’re just really excited for a great spring in Center City."