It was a cool spring morning when the brides and grooms started arriving at St. John Chrysostom Church in Inglewood. First one couple, then another, then another, and another. All told, 29 couples --- most of the women in white wedding dresses and the men in handsome suits --- arrived to profess their vows of marriage before God and their parish community.

For many, getting married in the Catholic Church is a dream come true. The couples have been together anywhere from three years to 40 years. They have been married civilly or not at all --- but they had not been married in the church even though they are raising their children in the faith.

Maria Valle and Jose Paiz were married for the first time at the May 3 parish community wedding after 11 years of being together. "I'm very happy and content to be joined in marriage," said Valle, with their three children present at the ceremony. "We wanted to have all the sacraments."

Their youngest daughter would soon be making her first Communion and now her parents could accompany her. Jacqueline, age 9, held the hem of her mother's white wedding dress. "She looks pretty," she said of her mom.

Another bride Maria Mejia and her husband Francisco Hernandez of 14 years are raising two sons.

"I'm very happy," said Mejia, newly married in the church. "We received the Lord's grace and now we're in unity with God."

A community wedding suited her well. As a native of El Salvador, most of her family still lives in Central America and are unable to attend her church wedding. "So the couples, we're celebrating all of us together," she said with a smile.

It was the first time the parish offered a community wedding to 29 couples at the Spanish wedding Mass and to four couples in a separate English liturgy May 10.

The genesis of the group wedding began when Father Marcos Gonzalez, administrator, noticed that many parishioners were choosing not to receive Communion at the weekend Masses, particularly at the Spanish liturgies.

When he started asking parishioners about it, he found out that many had not been married in the church. The reasons cited varied --- weddings are too expensive; there are too many marriage preparation classes to take away from the parish; couples did not have copies of their baptismal records; and old-fashioned procrastination.

Father Gonzalez, known for his "can-do" attitude, began to address the most common obstacles. He received archdiocesan permission to offer the marriage preparation class at the church.

His staff began to track down faraway churches to request baptismal documents for their parishioners. This process was made easier by internet resources that extend into Mexico and South America.

And he offered to hold a community wedding in which the parish would pick up the costs, and couples could make a free-will donation towards expenses.

"The response was incredible," Father Gonzalez told The Tidings. Dozens of couples expressed interest. "They were very excited about it. Some had tried before and couldn't get their documents in order. There was one complication or another. People are very happy. They finally feel the church is helping them to do something they've been wanting for years and years."

Eyda Fernandez said she and her husband Carlos of 18 years decided to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the parish to get married in the church at a community wedding. "It takes away a little of the embarrassment, because you see it's not just you," said Fernandez.

Some couples were not able to proceed if one of the partners had not annulled a previous church marriage. The parish is now assisting them through the annulment process.

The rest continued with the process. Some received additional religious education so that they could complete their sacraments and be baptized or receive Communion, the sacrament of reconciliation and confirmation.

Father Gonzalez has also conducted community weddings at St. Andrew Church in Pasadena and Holy Family Church in Glendale. He emphasizes to couples the special vocation of marriage.

"You're here because God has called you to this vocation," he tells them. "God has given you a tremendous mission to sanctify each other and to sanctify your children. God is using you for a great purpose."

When the much anticipated wedding day arrived at St. John Chrysostom, the church was packed with family members, friends and parishioners. Accompanied by organ music, the couples processed into the church with their two witnesses following them.

Four priests were on hand so that couples could exchange their wedding vows individually. Rings were blessed, and each of the couples placed a bouquet of flowers before the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. During Communion, every couple was able to participate.

The parish sponsored a reception afterwards that included five wedding cakes, fruit and punch. Family and friends clapped as the brides and grooms arrived. A professional photographer was on hand to snap photos of the newly married couples.

"I'm very happy. I thought this day would never come," said Julieta Ruiz. She and her husband Reynaldo Sanchez have been married civilly and are raising five children.

Sanchez credited the parish for doing the leg work to facilitate their church wedding and for helping them to end their procrastination. "We needed a little push," he said.

Ruiz added that she liked the community wedding model: "We went through this together, and we formed new friendships."