Free Valentine’s Day Mass Weddings at Bexar County Courthouse Draw Dozens of Couples Downtown

A courthouse tradition returns on a Saturday Valentine’s Day

Dozens of couples gathered at the Bexar County Courthouse on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, to be married in free group ceremonies on the building’s north steps in downtown San Antonio. The annual event, held on Valentine’s Day weekend, has become a long-running feature of the city’s civic calendar and routinely draws both participants and onlookers to the courthouse grounds at 100 Dolorosa St.

The ceremonies were officiated by Bexar County Clerk Lucy Adame-Clark, whose office administers marriage licensing and has led the courthouse ceremony tradition in recent years. While the weddings themselves are offered at no charge, couples are still required to obtain a Texas marriage license in advance and meet state eligibility requirements.

What couples had to do before stepping onto the courthouse stairs

Texas law generally requires a waiting period between issuance of a marriage license and the wedding ceremony. For the Valentine’s Day courthouse ceremonies, couples were expected to secure a license at least 72 hours before their scheduled ceremony unless they qualified for an exception. Exceptions can apply in circumstances such as active-duty military service, completion of a state-approved premarital education course, or a judicial waiver for good cause.

• Marriage license fee in Bexar County: $80
• Typical waiting period: 72 hours after the license is issued
• Commonly cited exemptions: active-duty military, approved premarital course, or a judge’s waiver

Schedule and related public activities

The courthouse weddings were structured around multiple ceremony times, with the first beginning shortly after midnight and additional ceremonies later in the morning and at midday. The Saturday date this year amplified participation and visibility, as Valentine’s Day fell on a weekend day rather than a weekday.

Across the street, Main Plaza hosted a “Newlywed Block Party” the night before, designed as a public lead-in to the midnight ceremony. The plaza event featured music, vendors and giveaways, and it provided a gathering point for couples and guests arriving ahead of the late-night wedding.

The courthouse ceremonies have been held in San Antonio since 1989, growing from a small-scale effort to make weddings more accessible into an event that can draw hundreds of people in a single day.

Community support component tied to the ceremony

Although participation in the group wedding ceremonies is free, couples and supporters are encouraged to make a suggested donation to benefit the Bexar County Family Justice Center, which provides services for people affected by domestic violence and related crimes. Organizers have positioned the donation request as a way to pair a celebratory civic ritual with support for a local public-safety and victim-services resource.

For San Antonio, the mass wedding format continues to serve two roles at once: a streamlined way for couples to formalize a marriage on a memorable date, and a high-visibility public event that turns the courthouse steps into a gathering place for a broad cross-section of the community.