Newlywed Analyse Higuera kisses her husband Noah Higuera after being married on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Newlywed Analyse Higuera listens along with her husband Noah Higuera as Deputy commissioner James Martin speaks after marrying them on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Lorena Dominguez Jimenez listens to the deputy commissioner speak as she marries Alexis Adan Valente Carbajal (not pictured) on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Lorena Dominguez Jimenez wearing her wedding dress pushes her 1 year old baby Ximena as she walks with Alexis Adan Valente Carbajal prior to being married on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Couples prepare in the parking lot prior to being married on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Couples surrounded by family and friends are married on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Newlyweds Alexis Adan Valente Carbajal and Lorena Dominguez Jimenez pose for pictures with family after being married on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Newlyweds Alexis Adan Valente Carbajal and Lorena Dominguez Jimenez along with their 1 year old baby Ximena pose for pictures as they are married on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Newlywed Maryann Garza Rodriguez smiles with her husband Alfredo Rodriguez after being married on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Newlywed Analyse Higuera reacts with her husband Noah Higuera as Deputy commissioner James Martin looks on after marrying them on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Alexis Adan Valente Carbajal and fiancee Lorena Dominguez Jimenez, right, listen to deputy Commissioner Charlotte Arrick as they are married on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Alexis Adan Valente Carbajal places a ring on the finger of Lorena Dominguez Jimenez as they are married on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Newlywed Analyse Higuera and her husband Noah Higuera pose for pictures after being married on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Newlywed Analyse Higuera smiles toward her husband Noah Higuera (not pictured) after being married on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Newlywed Analyse Higuera kisses her husband Noah Higuera after being married on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Alexis Adan Valente Carbajal, left, listens to Deputy Commissioner Charlotte Arrick as his fiancee Lorena Dominguez Jimenez, right, plays with their 1 year old baby Ximena as they are married on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Newlywed Analyse Higuera smiles after during her marriage ceremony on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Noah Higuera with a tattoo “I think I might be Happy” on his arm as he marries Analyse Higuera on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Analyse Higuera places a ring in the palm of Noah Higuera during a marriage ceremony on Valentine’s Day at the LA County Registrar’s Office in Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
As wedding planning goes, this was a doozy.
Portia Sanders wouldn’t meet the bride and groom until “D-Day.” She couldn’t predict how many guests would show up. And she had three months to make it all happen.
But Sanders, division manager over public records at the Norwalk headquarters of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, had it all in hand.
Under a wedding-ready white tent, Sanders and her staff welcomed couples to the courthouse, offering same-day marriage licenses and civil ceremonies on Feb. 14. Five volunteer officiants presided over ceremonies in little chapels decorated in photogenic backdrops and mylar balloons.
“When you see a love story, it tugs at your heart, it reinforces your own love for humanity, it’s pure joy,” Sanders said. “Not to downplay the other days, but on Valentine’s Day, we see more people who are truly in love. This is like my own personal Hallmark Channel.”
Last year’s en masse wedding day saw 140 couples hitched in Norwalk, with another 73 married in field offices such as Beverly Hills. The courthouse normally does 27 ceremonies a day, and countywide, it records 62,000 marriage licenses a year. This year, at least in the morning, the crowd of couples was smaller. An official count wasn’t immediately available.
Sanders said grooms are usually the ones who pick Valentine’s Day to wed, “so it’s easy to remember and they don’t get in the doghouse,” she said. “It’s this day or Halloween.”
Never one to judge a romance, Sanders said “we’re all about the love.”
Gareth Kylae Jordan and Marianela Gomez Rincon’s meet-cute happened in COVID times. The e-commerce manager and the pediatrician met online in the summer of 2020. Their first date was a picnic so it could be outdoors. It was cold, but the two got along so well Gomez Rincon canceled a date she had with another guy the next day.
“That’s how sure I was,” said the new “Mrs. Jordan, as-of-five-minutes-ago.” “After that first date, we kind of knew.”
Jordan proposed five months ago, but the two decided to tie the knot 12 hours before Valentine’s Day. Getting married facilitated a March trip to see her family in Mexico.
“We woke up at 6:30 a.m. so we can go to work after,” Jordan said. “But right at 5 p.m., we’re celebrating.”
The newlyweds were surprised with red roses by SoCal Honda Dealers, who threw in a free honeymoon too. The company gave out more than $10,000 worth of staycation trips to couples in Norwalk and Long Beach on Valentine’s Day.
“This experience was spontaneous and incredible,” Jordan said, who said he loves his wife for her great sense of duty and purpose.
“There’s an energy and glow she has all the time,” he said. “I love his spirit, he’s always ready for anything, his kindness, and he knows how to solve every problem,” his bride said. “He listens.”
Karen Ontiveros and Edward Carrillo, both of Alhambra, can rattle off the pertinent dates in their love story.
“We met May 28, 2022 online on Zoosk (a dating app), then we didn’t talk for two months,” the groom said. “We went on our second date on Aug. 28 to dinner at La Paloma in La Verne and we’ve been together ever since.”
His two children and her three were on hand to witness their wedding and the new blended family will bring the celebration to Universal Studios on Thursday. The new Mrs. Carrillo said she loves her husband’s emotional side.
“He’ll cry more than me,” she said, laughing as her new husband did just that.
For his part, Carrillo said his bride has the biggest heart.
“She’s such a good person, and I never thought I’d find someone who loves drag racing like me,” he said. Carrillo worked for drag racing champion Joe Amato before he retired.
As for wedding presents? The new Mrs. Carrillo said, “He’s my present,” to which her husband chimed in, “She is mine.”
Officiant Connie Leathers of Compton volunteers weekly to preside over weddings after she retired from the Los Angeles County Probation Department.
“I do love weddings, it’s such a happy time,” she said. “I don’t give advice. My mission is to make their day as beautiful as possible. It’s a great feeling. I have fun with all my couples.”
Sanders and her crew of county Cupids welcome more volunteer commissioners to join their ranks, especially in the East L.A. courthouse. For more information, visit lavote.gov.
