Large-Scale Weddings Held Along Total Solar Eclipse Paths
Approximately 8 Trillion Won Economic Impact from First Total Solar Eclipse in 7 Years
Hundreds of couples in the United States celebrated a total solar eclipse for the first time in seven years by holding special weddings beneath it.
On the 8th (local time), couples attending a joint wedding ceremony at Trenton Community Park in Ohio, USA, exchanged wedding rings during a total solar eclipse. On this day, many people in the United States stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky to observe the rare cosmic show, which was seen for the first time in seven years across the North American continent. [Image source=Yonhap News]
On April 8 (local time), the US daily New York Times (NYT) and CNN reported that in Russellville, Arkansas, in the southern US where the total solar eclipse passed in the afternoon, a large joint wedding ceremony called "Elope at the Eclipse" was held. "Elope" means running away together after locking eyes with a loved one. The total eclipse, which began around noon, lasted about four minutes, during which the moon completely covered the sun, making the sky pitch dark.
The organizers of this joint wedding announced the event last July as part of the total eclipse festival. Couples could participate by purchasing festival tickets and paying the marriage certificate issuance fee. The media reported that a total of 358 couples took part in the event and got married just before the sky turned completely dark due to the total eclipse that afternoon.
On the 8th (local time), attendees at a large-scale wedding held at Trenton Community Park in Trenton, Ohio, were looking up at a total solar eclipse. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]
Ashley Smith and Gary Knebel, who had been dating for 15 years, postponed their wedding in 2017 due to the passing of Smith's mother, and decided to get married during this total eclipse. Before the wedding, Smith said, "I am most looking forward to the moment I get married," but Knebel humorously said, "I am most looking forward to the moment of darkness," creating a lighthearted anecdote.
In Tiffin, a small town in Ohio located along the eclipse observation path, a free joint wedding ceremony was also held. Bryce Rix, an executive of the local Chamber of Commerce, said registration closed at the end of March, with a total of 150 couples registered to participate. Rix explained, "10% of the participants are local residents, and the rest are travelers," adding, "The total distance they traveled to get married amounts to 16,600 miles (about 26,715 km)."
In Indianapolis, another eclipse observation area, several nighttime weddings took place. Although Monday is generally not a preferred day for weddings, the wedding service website The Knot registered about 750 weddings on this day, more than double the number on the same day a year ago, according to the media.
On the 8th (local time), a total solar eclipse, where the moon completely covered the sun, was observed at Progressive Field baseball stadium in Cleveland, USA. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Some couples also got engaged while watching the total eclipse. During CNN's live broadcast of the eclipse from Stowe, Vermont, a man proposed to his partner, who accepted, and the two promised to marry. A CNN reporter watching this said, "True love was firmly sealed in the darkness of the eclipse now etched in history," offering congratulations.
Meanwhile, the total solar eclipse observable in the US occurred for the first time in about seven years since August 21, 2017. This eclipse was predicted to be visible over a wider area and for a longer duration than in 2017. The duration varies by observation location, but while the maximum duration in 2017 was 2 minutes and 42 seconds, this time it was up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds in Mexico and about 4 minutes and 26 seconds in Texas, USA. Furthermore, the next opportunity to see a total solar eclipse is predicted to be in 2045, about 20 years later, increasing its rarity. Because of this, an analysis suggested that the total solar eclipse could generate an economic effect of $6 billion (about 8.118 trillion KRW) in the US. Especially along the diagonal path from southern Texas to northeastern Maine, where the total eclipse was fully observable, millions of visitors from outside the area gathered.
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