SAN ANTONIO — They say a wedding doesn't have to be expensive to be memorable. Right now, that's never been more true.
Standing inside a wedding chapel and holding hands Tuesday morning, Yinwen and Raphael never thought this is what their wedding day would like, but this is what a pandemic proposes.
"We were supposed to get married on the 29th, but we just saw the news and we realized it wouldn't be open," Raphael Assad Cruz Alves dos Santos said.
This couple isn't alone.
Kari Esparza, with Texas Wedding Ministers, booked seven weddings within minutes of the city announcing a stay-at-home order would soon take effect.
"It's been a lot of panicked couples," Esparza said.
"It's been a big change; a lot of them have been planning their weddings for years sometimes, and to make this change it's really hard on them. They have this dream in their mind that they're going to have this wedding, and then all of a sudden, boom, they can't get married, (and) venues and things are shutting down."
And that's where Esparza's business steps in. For the last few hours before the order takes effect Tuesday night, her officiants will try to marry as many people as they can, especially those whose wedding license could expire while the stay-home order is in effect.
"Your wedding license is good for 90 days from the time you receive it," Esparza said.
A last-ditch effort to give couples maybe not the wedding of their dreams, but one they surely won't forget
Texas Wedding Ministers will remain open to officiate weddings until 11 p.m. on Tuesday night for any last-minute couples whose licenses may expire during the stay at home order.