BACOLOD CITY: First lady Marie Louise 'Liza' Araneta-Marcos will be the guest of honor during the mass wedding of 2,023 couples at the Government Center grounds at 2 p.m. on March 11.Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez confirmed the arrival of the first lady on Friday afternoon as he officiated a special ceremony for 28 couples at the lobby of the Government Center.'It will be on March 11, our mass wedding for the 2,023 couples in line with the year 2023,' the mayor said.The mass wedding has been postponed twice after the February 14 and March 3 initial dates.Benitez said Friday's special wedding rites were held for the couples 'who can no longer wait' for the March 11 event.'They want their union with their loved ones to happen this March 3, [so] I decided to hold a small wedding ceremony for the couples who have already prepared for today,' he pointed out.Next Saturday's mass wedding, dubbed 'Officially You and Me sa '23 with Mayor Albee,' will include a raffle draw to give away various prizes for the married couples.The city is eyeing a Guinness World Record for the most number of couples to tie the knot in a single-venue mass wedding.'I asked the Guinness [Book of] World Records if we could qualify. There's none yet in just one venue. They have [a record] for multiple venues of the mass wedding, but [this number] in a single venue, there's no record yet,' he said.The series of postponements have dismayed several couples as shown on their social media posts.Some lamented that they have already filed a leave from work on March 3 while others said they have already booked trips to return home to marry on that day.Benitez said the organizers are looking for a suitable venue to accommodate all the couples and their families.'It is not a joke to have 2,023 couples. We are looking at not less than 16,000 attendees. It cannot be done without preparations. I told them to be very detailed,' the mayor said.
