The Willow Glen Resident

Cupid takes Valentine's Day holiday from local churches

No theme weddings or red taffeta dresses found in the Glen

By Christine M. Lias

"I do ... or do I?"

Ah, Valentine's Day 1998 in Silicon Valley. The perfect time for a wedding.

It fell on a Saturday, a typically ideal day for a wedding. The first Saturday V-day in 11 years, as a matter of fact.

El Niño was relatively quiet. The economy was in pretty good shape. Demi Moore and Bruce Willis were still married. It was a good time for weddings. So, what happened?

Area churches report that Valentine's Day weddings in Willow Glen were almost nonexistent, and the ones that did occur tended to ignore the holiday, leaning toward more traditional fare.

Divine Science Community Center on Hicks Avenue had no weddings on Valentine's Day and hasn't done too many of them in the last couple of years, minister Christine Emmerling said.

First Church of Religious Science on Clark Street had no weddings. Rather, the church had 60 couples renew their vows in a group ceremony.

Sacred Heart Parish had two weddings scheduled, but they were both canceled for mysterious reasons that the church secretary could not speculate about.

What is going on here? Is Valentine's Day no longer a day of true romance, a day to get married?

"The weather this year really wasn't conducive for a wedding. People tend to get married in the summertime," Emmerling said.

At Valley Community Church, however, it was a different affair. Four couples walked down the aisle on Valentine's Day. Finally, a bit of romance in Silicon Valley.

But there weren't any red taffeta bridesmaids' dresses. No pink sequined hearts stapled to the bridal train. No chocolate candies or, better yet, condoms thrown instead of rice.

"The weddings were pretty good, nothing unusual. Quite traditional, actually," said Pastor Ed Richards, who has performed weddings at Valley Community for the past 19 years.

"In the beginning, couples have grandiose plans for how they want to incorporate Valentine's Day into the wedding," Richards said. "But when it comes down to it, it can be pretty expensive for the florist, for example, to change the flowers from something more traditional to Valentine's Day."

Bob Barone at Posey Garden Florist on Lincoln Avenue advises against getting married on Valentine's Day, particularly if the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday.

"We had seven or eight calls for weddings on Valentine's Day, but we wouldn't do them. It just gets so busy, and flower [prices] are so high. You don't want to quote prices that the customer doesn't want," Barone said.

Phuong Malkin, a florist from Towne Flower on Willow Street, said that Valentine's Day was a hectic "nightmare," weddings aside. She had a couple of calls several months ago for weddings on Valentine's Day but would not take their orders for reasons similar to Barone's.

"I think if you call around to other florists, you'll find the same thing," Barone said.

High floral prices may explain in part the lack of Valentine's Day nuptials, but winter's not even a typical time to get married, Richards said. Neither is the stereotypical June, which is usually sweltering in San Jose. The most popular time to get married is either May or August, he said.

[ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ]