The Wedding Is Fake, but the Party Is Real<br />In case there was any doubt, as the couple (hired actors) left the stage, colored lights flashed, the disc jockey started the music pumping, and the announcement was made to the paying guests: "The wedding is fake,<br />but the party is real." "The purpose of the ‘falsa boda’ is to convey joy and fun and live the happy moments related to love, without having to fall into the traditional ritual of what a marriage is," explained Nacho Bottinelli, 30, one of the organizers.<br />Real weddings have been on the decline in Buenos Aires — less than half of what they were<br />about 20 years ago — as couples are simply living together or waiting longer to marry.<br />5, 2017<br />BUENOS AIRES — On a Saturday night in Buenos Aires, hundreds of guests turned out for what might have been the wedding of the season.<br />The events are successful enough that Mr. Bottinelli and his friends now stage them in Buenos Aires about once a month, sometimes more.<br />Mr. Bottinelli and his friends grew tired of waiting for someone in their circle of friends to marry to be able to celebrate.<br />The ritual of placing a garter on the bride also gets a twist, with 10 single women and 10 single men from the crowd invited to also give it a try.
