It often takes months of preparation, but some marriages are in a hurry. If one of the two partners is seriously ill and dies, for example. Then an emergency marriage can be performed. Mariëlle Jongmans works for Make-A-WeddingWish and helps couples to get married very quickly.
In the Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital, such a wedding was celebrated two weeks ago. The bride was admitted with serious complaints during her wedding day. A lot had to be arranged to get married, but it worked. She died three days later. Such emergency marriages are necessary in Tilburg about five to ten times a year, according to the municipality.
Mariëlle Jongmans is a Special Officer of the Civil Registry (BABS) and knows these kinds of situations all too well. In addition to her TV weddings for Married at First Sight and many regular weddings, she also does emergency weddings through the Make-A-WeddingWish foundation.
Last summer she married Patrick and Miranda from Tilburg. “Miranda was terminally ill and before the death, the couple had only one wish: to get married.” A friend registered them with the foundation, and a few days later they were married outside their own flat with the help of the Ambulance Wish Foundation.
It is difficult to consummate a legally valid marriage so quickly. For example, the location must become a ‘community house’, just like a city or town hall already is. “Normally it takes at least two weeks to request that for another location,” says Mariëlle. And then there is the additional condition that six witnesses are required.
According to Mariëlle, hospitals are now familiar with emergency marriages and often make something beautiful out of it. “Flags are then hung and flowers arranged.”
And those are not the only challenges during an emergency wedding. “Often there is not even time to arrange wedding rings, so I always have lucky bracelets with me.” A lot has to be improvised, but everything is arranged by the people of the foundation.
Patrick and Miranda had been planning to get married for some time. “Only Miranda’s situation suddenly deteriorated and then we had to switch quickly”, Mariëlle recalls. A wedding day was quickly set up, including a photographer and a chip cart for dinner.
“It was a really loving story,” says Mariëlle. “They met at the Tilburg fair and have been together for 25 years.” It is exceptional that Mariëlle knows this. Because there is usually no time for an introductory meeting when an emergency wedding is performed. Miranda died some time after she married Patrick.