Argentinian Couple Holds 'Online Wedding March' Amid COVID-19 Quarantine Measures

[Image source=YouTube (Lucas Magnin) capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] In Argentina, where the entire population is under mandatory quarantine due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) crisis, a couple has gained international attention by holding their wedding ceremony online. Both the officiant and the guests attended the wedding virtually via online video chat.

According to foreign media including the Associated Press on the 23rd (local time), Diego Aspitia and Sofia Cugino, who live in Cordoba, Argentina, held an online wedding ceremony on the 21st. They connected the officiating pastor and guests through video chat via social networking services (SNS) to conduct the ceremony. About 400 online guests, including family and relatives, watched the wedding through their monitors.

The couple had not originally planned an online wedding. They had set their wedding date for March 21 of this year, one year ago. However, as the COVID-19 crisis swept across the globe while they were preparing for the wedding, they became unable to hold the ceremony. The Argentine government imposed a self-quarantine order for all citizens starting from the 20th to prevent the spread of COVID-19, making it impossible to travel to the wedding venue. As of that day, Argentina had reported a total of 266 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 4 deaths.

Since the quarantine order was issued, only essential and exceptional outings such as purchasing medicine or daily necessities are allowed in Argentina. Weddings are not permitted, and neither the guests nor the bride and groom can travel to the wedding venue. Faced with the situation of having to cancel or postpone their wedding, the couple decided to hold an online wedding.

The groom, Aspitia, said, "Marriage is one of the most important events in life. It took time to accept the fact that we could not have the wedding we wanted. However, for the public good, we decided to put our dream aside. We stayed home and complied with the quarantine." The bride, Cugino, also stated, "It was a wedding without a party, food, or a beautiful dress, but the most important thing for us was that people watched and blessed our wedding." The couple plans to go to the government office to register their marriage as soon as the quarantine order, scheduled to last until the 31st of this month, ends.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.