34 heed to St. Anthony's wedding bells - Lisbon, Portugal
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Metro2
N 38° 42.601 W 009° 08.044
29S E 488343 N 4284606
Continuing a tradition, eventeen couples got married at this historic church on Saint Anthony's Day.
Waymark Code: WMQN9C
Location: Lisboa, Portugal
Date Posted: 03/06/2016
Views: 4
On 6/17/2000, The Portuguese News OnLine (
visit link) reported the following story:
"34 heed to St. Anthony's wedding bells
IN NEWS · 17-06-2000 00:00:00 · 0 COMMENTS
Somewhat hot and somewhat nervous, 17 couples kept to the tradition of marrying on the eve of St. Anthony's Day in Lisbon on June 12. Six couples were joined at a number of Lisbon parishes, while a further 11 entered into holy matrimony at the Santo António Church.
At 15h00, eleven brides entered the Santo António Chapel accompanied by the wedding march. Neighbours and friends were left waiting outside in a tent, while only the couples' close relations were allowed to witness the matrimonial proceedings.
As has become tradition, hundreds of people, unknown to any of the couples, gathered outside the church to grab a glimpse of the 11 beautiful brides.
At the other side of the street, 36 classical cars were parked and would eventually transport the 11 couples and "in-laws" to their respective post-wedding venues.
Horácio Gonzalez, owner of these cars, most of which herald from the 1920s and 30s, said, that in the three years that his cars have been ferrying couples, not one of the "cabriolets" had ever experienced embarrassing mechanical problems.
Besides the presence of family members in the interior of the chapel, Lisbon Mayor João Soares also attended the ceremonies - an event sponsored annually by the City Hall.
Upon their exit from the Santo António Chapel, couples were "bombarded" with rice, yellow and red rose petals, while thousands of pink paper strips and confetti were thrown out of the windows by curious onlookers, resident in surrounding buildings. The couples then joined the convoy to the civil registry office and, following a banquet sponsored by the City Hall, they were off into the golden sunset and into a future which they hope will be as bright as the sunny day on which they married."