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‘So blessed’: East side church hosts free wedding event for 9 couples

A couple stands at an altar during a wedding ceremony. New Direction Church on the east side of Indianapolis hosted a grand wedding event on March 23, 2024, which helped 15 couples who might not have had the finances for a wedding still celebrate their love and get married during the free ceremony. The church also offered couples marriage counseling, professional photographs, makeovers, and personalized cakes. (WISH Photo, File)

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A church on Indianapolis’ east side celebrated the beauty of love by hosting a free grand wedding event on Saturday.

New Direction Church held the grand wedding for 9 couples.

Dr. Rev. Kenneth Sullivan Jr., the church’s pastor, said the ceremony was a way to strengthen families. Sullivan also said his desire to hold the ceremony was to help couples who wanted to get married but didn’t have the finances.

To prepare for the event, the church partnered with Indiana Wesleyan University to offer a free day of marriage counseling courses sometime last week.

On Saturday, wedding vendors stepped up to help make the grand wedding successful. A team of makeup artists gave each bride a dream makeover, and professional photographers held shoots for each couple. The sets of newlyweds even got their own personal wedding cake.

In an Instagram post, Sullivan said it was a blessing to perform the ceremony for everyone. “So Blessed to perform the wedding ceremony for all of these couples! I wish them much success and all the best!”

The church also posted a video on its Facebook highlighting the event.