Teresa Bell stood in a red lace wedding dress and red pillbox hat, nervously clutching a bouquet of red roses mixed with chocolate hearts covered in red glitter.

In a few minutes, she would become one of 14 couples to wed Saturday at DC Superior Court’s Marriage Bureau, which opened its doors for the first time on a weekend in decades to accommodate the requests of couples wanting to say “I do” on a day set aside for romantic love.

“It’s an ‘I love you’ day,” said Bell, 52, a teacher’s aide who lives in Southeast Washington. She fought back tears as she looked over at her fiance, Gary Adams, 50, in a red tie and black suit, sitting in a sparse waiting room at family court.