When balconies, sidewalks double up as wedding venues

A couple in northern Spain decided to host their wedding on their balcony in the town of Arnedo after the country’s strict lockdown measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak prevented them from having their dream wedding party.

Jose and Deborah exchanged their vows on their apartment balcony while dozens of onlookers cheered them on from neighbouring balconies and on the streets, with some holding flying banners with messages to congratulate the couple.

Even town Mayor Javier Garcia attended the wedding and symbolically officiated their marriage from the street below. A drone was used to capture the moment.

Spain has been under a nationwide lockdown since March 14 in a bid to slow down coronavirus transmissions. The restrictions have kept the nation’s 47 million people inside their homes, with Spaniards only allowed to leave for necessities such as groceries and visits to the pharmacy or health clinic. It seems balcony celebrations have become a trend, with examples in countries including the US, Lebanon and Israel.

In the US, balcony weddings have propped up in the coronavirus epicentre of New York, as well as the southern coastal city of Miami. In New York, which went into lockdown on March 20, a marriage official read aloud from his fifth floor window to the couple down below on the street with onlookers cheering on from their windows.

Meanwhile, in Miami, Benjamin Katz, 35, and Jamie Webner, 36, decided to have their wedding on their balcony in early April after they were forced to cancel their big day due to the coronavirus quarantine.

So they planned a Zoom online wedding with 150 virtual attendees. Webner’s sister even became certified online so she could officiate the ceremony. Neighbours acted as witnesses from their own balcony — about 4.5 meters (about 5 yards) away.

Their guests attended the virtual wedding from cities across the US as well as Greece, and the couple celebrated with takeout pizza and champagne.

In Israel, couples held impromptu weddings in the streets, balconies, on rooftops and even in a supermarket on March 15, a day after the government restricted gatherings of more than 10 people. In Jerusalem, dozens of guests partied, sang and danced from their balconies overlooking a courtyard to celebrate the union of two newly-weds. At another wedding, people serenaded a couple from their balconies and sang the song Shevet Ahim Veahot by Idan Raichel.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, a video of a coronavirus-themed wedding on a balcony was shared on Twitter. In the video, two men in full disinfection suits are lifted by a crane on to a balcony to greet a woman. The man then climbs over the balcony, removes his gas mask and gets down on one knee. Onlookers applaud from afar as he proposed. The video went viral, sparking joy in yet another country under lockdown.