Thousands of couples around the world tied the knot despite concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. Armed with face masks, couples declared their love in mass weddings in South Korea and the Philippines.
Image: Getty Images/W. Cho
Love goes on
A happy bride and groom celebrate their romance in a mass wedding ceremony at the Cheong Shim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, a northern city in South Korea. The wedding took place on February 7, before mass cases of the virus were detected in the country.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/Ahn Young-joon
Masked kisses
220 couples in the central Filipino city of Bacolod exchanged their vows and kisses on February 20 in a government-sponsored mass wedding. "It feels different to kiss while wearing masks, but it is required," Groom John Paul told Australia's ABC news.
Image: Reuters/Bacolod City Public Information Office
Valentine's Day during crisis
A bride in the Filipino capital of Manila wore a protective mask as she waited to walk down the aisle during a mass wedding at Manila Hotel Tent city. The wedding took place on February 14 - Valentine's Day, a popular date for mass weddings in the country. The Philippines has three confirmed cases of the coronavirus and one person has died so far.
Image: Imago Images/Zuma/L.M. David
Going ungloved
One mass wedding in South Korea distributed 30,000 face masks to the crowd, according to French news agency AFP. The wedding took place at the Unification Church, founded by Sun Myung Moon who is revered as a messiah by his followers.
Image: AFP/Jung Yeon-je
Newlyweds
Festivals, graduation ceremonies and K-pop concerts have been cancelled over fears big events could lead to virus transmission.
Image: Reuters/H. Ran
Face masks a choice
While masks were distributed to participants and guests, not everyone chose to wear one.
Image: Reuters/H. Ran
Happy mood
A festive mood filled the venue. Many of the couples' family and friends also attended the ceremony. Mass weddings in South Korea date back to the early 1960s.
Couples kissed, held hands and hugged to commemorate their love in mass weddings across South Korea and the Philippines. For many, life goes on, with the big day marking an important milestone.
Nobel literature prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez once said: "The only regret I will have in dying is if it is not for love." Wedding participants had to complete health declarations, detailing a travel history of 14 days (the standard COVID-19 quarantine period) and most were required to wear face masks.
South Korea's large-scale weddings took place prior the country's mass outbreak of the coronavirus.
