Hundreds of couples have flocked to Arkansas to say “I do” just before daytime turns to darkness during Monday afternoon’s total solar eclipse—a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” that’ll be held in the middle of a rural field.
The event, Total Eclipse of the Heart, promised on its website to offer “astro-loving” couples a chance to wed—for free—just before the sun fully slides behind the moon and creates approximately four minutes of total darkness there.
The lovebirds have convened on Russellville, Arkansas, for the unique eloping—a town of 30,000 between Fayetteville and Little Rock that’s squarely in the middle of the eclipse’s totality zone.
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Event organizers said that it would provide a wedding officiant, decorations, flowers, a wedding cake, and a sparkling wine for the couples to celebrate. Couples were asked only to show up with a marriage license and bring their own attire.
Organizers said the mass ceremony will conclude a few minutes before the solar eclipse reaches totality, allowing the couples to not have to miss a single second while they say their vows and smooch.
Family and friends are allowed to attend, but must buy an admission ticket that grants them access to the ceremony and to the ensuing celebration, which includes concerts.
Rodney Williams, an event organizer, told KATV that the event exploded in popularity with nearly 300 couples from across 22 states signing up in advance.
One bride, Carlotta Cox, told the local TV news station 40/29, “It just seems like the coolest wedding that you could ever have.”
“I think the emotions from seeing the eclipse take place are just going to be a synergistic effect that heightens everything and brings tears to the eyes,” Williams told KATV. “Seeing the smiling faces and hopefully seeing stars and just being a part of that is going to make me happy.”
