Mass 12/12 wedding plans left at the altar

The wedding of the year is off.

Not enough people committed for what was to be an extra-special day — a mass wedding held on Dec. 12, or 12/12/12 — organized by Yuma's Heritage Festivals to make the party financially feasible.

“I feel like a bride that was left at the altar,” said a disappointed Perla Wicks, Heritage Festivals coordinator.

Wicks hoped for 100 couples, at $300 per pair, to sign up to get married in the 100-year-old Historic Yuma Theatre — at noon, of course — on this numerically auspicious day in Arizona's centennial. These would have been real legal weddings, or a possibility to enjoy a unique vow renewal, with a formal reception at the Yuma Civic Center.

Organizers really only needed 51 couples to break even, and Wicks said plenty of people were intrigued, even calling in from Phoenix and California to ask about marrying in Yuma. Couples and their guests would have been treated to a proper sit-down meal, “not with Dixie cups, but with china” and four four-tiered cakes. The couples also would have been photographed and their pictures put into a time capsule.

But despite many queries and agreements from several local businesses to provide gifts and prizes, not even 51 would-be brides and grooms put down the cash. With Tuesday being the deadline to place orders on commemorative goodies — like T-shirts, wine bottles with custom labels and cake toppers for every couple — and not enough orders, Wicks had to pull the plug. People would ask her if it was too late, and finally she had to say, “Yes, it is, it's too late.”

She will refund the undisclosed number of people who did put down money, like the couple who wanted to renew their vows after 25 years.

Wicks announced the wedding in late July and promoted it through local media, Facebook and the recent wedding expo. She is buoyed at least knowing she tried.

“It's not a failure if you try,” she said.

Hillary Davis can be reached at hdavis@yumasun.com or 539-6857. Find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/YSHillaryDavis or on Twitter at @YSHillaryDavis.