Valentine’s Day is a day where love in all its forms is celebrated.
And the holiday this year had special significance for couples who got married as close to Valentine’s Day as possible.
The Milwaukee County Courthouse stopped doing in-person civil weddings at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and hasn’t resumed the ceremonies since then. So, the Waukesha County Courthouse has filled the gap.
Judicial court commissioner Christopher Bailey has been performing some of them since he was appointed in 2021.
Bailey says he feels lucky and blessed to be part of people’s special day.
"I mention at the beginning of my ceremonies that my parents were married here a very long time ago and a judge is on their wedding certificate. Now I get to be on their wedding certificate, you know, these licenses," Bailey says. "I get to be a small part of their family history. But it’s neat to say I married people, it’s a happy day, and I get to contribute to them having a marriage and them being happy like that."
Bailey says over the course of performing weddings at the courthouse, what stands out are the times he’s been able to witness different wedding traditions.
"[I] had a number of very nice people from Nigeria who are doctors at the Medical College [of Wisconsin] come through, and they have various traditions they do," he says. "Pakistani — they dress in their full regalia; very beautiful wedding garments they had brought in. Very bright, very colorful. All these traditions I get to learn of other cultures and how they do marriages. That’s been a interesting thing that I just did not anticipate that I would meet so many different, interesting people from different parts of the world who just want to get married here."
Bailey and I spoke on Friday, Feb. 13.
The courthouse is not open on the weekends, so couples had to mark their Valentine’s Day nuptials a day ahead.
Bailey says Valentine’s Day is typically busy for weddings. So is the summertime. But he adds that the Waukesha County Courthouse generally sees a steady stream of weddings; it’s not necessarily tied to a holiday or time of year.
Although, unique dates might see an uptick in ceremonies. Bailey says 2/22/22 was a very popular wedding date, for example.
Last Friday, Bailey had three weddings during the noon lunch hour, which is the usual timeframe that he officiates ceremonies.
One of those couples was Eric Hoover and Holly Vukich. They met on Facebook Dating.
Vukich says they lived parallel lives prior to meeting. Both have been married before. Both have teenage daughters around the same age. She says they just “clicked right away.”
Their first date was at a bar.
"I knew right away I was marrying her," Hoover says. "When I first saw her."
Vukich says she knew right away too.
The couple say both wanted to be married again, after their previous relationships ended.
"I just knew," Vukich says. "My last relationship was almost 10 years and when I went into that relationship I knew right away, I didn’t want to get married. I told my ex-boyfriend I didn’t want to get married, and I’m not sure why I continued when marriage wasn’t the goal. And he [Hoover] wanted to marry me like the moment he met me and so it just felt like it was right."
"We sat and talked for hours at a time," Hoover says. "I don’t talk to people usually — kind of like to be by myself, but with her I’m back to being a teenager again at 55. On the phone for two, three, four, five hours sometimes. Texting all day long. Just want to constantly be around her no matter what."
The Hoovers say their advice to couples — especially older couples — is to never think it’s too late to find someone or pursue your dreams.
They say after the courthouse wedding Friday, they don’t plan to have a second, bigger ceremony. But they joked they might go to Las Vegas and let Elvis marry them again.
