They won’t be going to the chapel, but they are going to have a pretty scenic place to get married.

Starting at 10 am on June 26, seven couples will be married in back-to-back 30 minute ceremonies at Bridgeview Park.

The Town of Petrolia decided to offer the service knowing there were lots of couples who are looking for a wedding venue this year.

Laurissa Ellsworth, director of marketing, arts and communications, says they had been getting calls from people whose wedding plans were derailed during the pandemic. They were looking for a civil ceremony as a new option. But the town had to follow the same restrictions as everyone else, making offering indoor services impossible.

“We thought, ‘okay, what’s an option for the outdoors and safe where people can stand steady,” she says. The answer was at the covered bridge at Bridgeview Park.

For a fee of $175, couples will have one of three different 30 minute ceremonies and the brides and grooms can use the park for their wedding photos, too. And under provincial pandemic rules, they can have as many visitors as can stay six feet apart.

“There’s a lot of people that are getting, kind of stalled in the planning and if we can help them, let’s do it,” Ellsworth says.

Seven couples have stepped forward to take the Saturday dates and Ellsworth says another wedding blitz may be set up in July.