Many couples today decide to live together without going through the civil registry. As a result, wedding ceremonies have became less frequent and, consequently, many people - especially in the younger generation - have never been able to attend or even celebrate a wedding.

With this predicament in mind, five friends from the city of La Plata, the capital of the Argentinian province of Buenos Aires, organized a fake wedding for 300 guests that included all the well-known rituals: a couple that was getting married, outfits that matched a wedding dress code, free food and drinks, a DJ, live music, and everything else. The “guests” pay for a ticket that grants them access to the celebration.

On Facebook, the page Falsa Boda (“Fake Wedding”), labeled “the most fun party in the world,” describes itself as “a social event for people between the ages of 23 and 35 who want to share a Great Wedding with friends.” The organisers write that many people really want to experience a wedding together, but their friends just don't get married anymore - or if they do, they can't invite all the guests. 

“So we decided to create a Fake Wedding. An event where many of the typical rituals are celebrated (free bar, bride and groom, bouquet, cake, dance, reception, sweet food, the end of the party, etc.).”

Martín Acerbi, one of the creators, says: “According to some of the participants, part of the “attraction” of these events is the fake love story created to justify the wedding. Before each party, we post a video where the alleged bride and groom - both hired actors - share their love story and invite people to the wedding.”

The idea has been so successful that a “fake wedding” has even taken place in Russia. Martín recalls, that the sister of one of the organisers carries out tango performances in Moscow and talked about the event to a producer. “He accepted the challenge of organizing a fake wedding in his city. So we went all the way there to organize a fake wedding, which worked out just fine.”

Some men even offer themselves as “grooms”.

In Latin America, some men even offer themselves as “grooms”, and in Peru, a Twitter user called Rodrigo considers a fake wedding to be a good solution for himself: “I found the solution to my problem!! As none of my friends invite me to their wedding, I'll attend a fake wedding!!”

One hopes Rodrigo's adventures in the land of fake weddings lands him some real friends with a more inviting attitude.