Nancy Abrego and John Wokuluk knew they wanted to get married, but they weren’t sure exactly when.
So the San Diego couple decided to run a few dates by a tarot card reader.
“Let’s see if the universe agrees” with what we’re considering, they remembered thinking.
They tried 12-21-12, but the cards pointed to no. Then they tried again, thinking 10-11-12 seemed like a “progressive” and “kind of cool” date. This time, a card said “success.”
Abrego and Wokuluk were among the dozens of couples who chose Thursday to marry at one of the County’s Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk offices. The day was on track to be almost two times as busy for wedding ceremonies as an average Thursday, with 69 scheduled in the County’s four offices that perform ceremonies (in downtown San Diego, Chula Vista, El Cajon and San Marcos). Normally, Fridays are the busiest day of the week to say “I do” at the County. Nearly half of the weddings in San Diego County are performed at the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk’s offices.
Many couples said they chose 10-11-12 at least in part because it would be an easy anniversary day to remember.
Among them was National City couple Arminda Cruz and Phillip Lopez. Cruz said the 11th day of the month was important to them anyway because that was the day she moved to the U.S. from the Philippines in September 2010. The two had reunited in this country through Facebook after meeting in college in the Philippines.
“He found me” on there, Cruz said.
When she mentioned the possibility of a 10-11-12 wedding to Lopez, he liked the idea, saying it would be easy to recall.
For San Diego couple Valerie Nieto and Gerardo Tovar, Thursday also just made sense for a wedding. Why? It was Tovar’s birthday Thursday and Nieto’s the next day, on Friday.
“It’s a once in a lifetime day and a once in a lifetime kind of girl,” he said.
Minutes after their wedding, Abrego said she and her new husband had chosen the County Administration Center in hopes of having a simple, drama-free ceremony. The couple’s friend Wendy Brock served as a witness. After four and a half years together, Brock said it was just the right time for them to take the plunge.
They planned to take a honeymoon on 12-21-12.
