CLEVELAND, Ohio — For 365 days a year, people come into Tower City’s spacious Skylight Concourse on their way to work, school, shop or a movie.
But on one of those days, Valentine’s Day, the concourse is transformed into a romantic place where couples exchange wedding vows and shiny rings.
For nine years now, Cleveland Municipal judges have performed multiple Valentine’s Day weddings at Tower City, with its Grand Staircase, marble floors and pillars, gurgling fountains and soaring arched glass ceiling.
This year’s nuptials will be Tuesday, Feb. 14 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Five judges will officiate.
“We usually get between 25 and 30 couples,” said Cleveland Municipal Information Officer Ed Ferenc.
[Take a look at the photo gallery with this story of past wedding ceremonies at the iconic Tower City].
The wedding tradition began in 1998. Valentine’s Day that year fell on a Saturday, which meant Cuyahoga County couples couldn’t get married in municipal court on that day, as they often do, Ferenc said.
So someone at Cleveland Municipal Court came up with the idea to ask municipal judges if they would be willing to marry couples at Tower City if officials there wanted to participate, said Ferenc. Everyone said yes to the idea.
“They (Tower City weddings) became popular because Tower City is much nicer-looking than a courtroom,” he said. “Now it’s something we can’t get away from. I get calls year-round from people asking if we’ll be having weddings at Tower City.”
To learn more about about saying ‘I do” at Tower City, go to http://clevelandmunicipalcourt.org/valentines-day-weddings-2017.
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