INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
bureau in US capital Washington to pick up their marriage certificate, they were surprised to find it was closed because of government
shutdown."It never occurred to us that DC marriage bureau was federally funded," said Pollock, who, like his wife, is a former Senate
staffer who had worked through previous government shutdowns."When we showed up at courthouse, they politely turned us away and said there
would be no licenses until government reopens," Pollock told AFP.With just two days until their wedding, however, it was too late to change
their plans."We chose to embrace insanity," said Pollock
"The entire wedding was a blast nonetheless, and I guess we'll be back in DC to make it official."The couple, who posted their story on
Twitter to show real impact that shutdown -- sparked by President Donald Trump's demand for funding for a wall on Mexico border -- was
having on ordinary people.The government has been closed since before Christmas, and leadership of newly installed Democrat majority in
House of Representatives are refusing to yield to president's demand for $5.6 billion for a wall, a key campaign pledge that he had
originally said Mexico would pay for.Trump has refused to sign off on a slew of government funding bills until he receives money for his
"beautiful" southern border wall, leading to a government closure that has left hundreds of thousands of federal employees without pay over
holiday season.The District of Colombia, where nation's capital is located, receives part of its funding from federal government, and has
seen some city services directly impacted by closure.That includes marriage bureau, which issues licenses for civil unions and certificates
needed for other types of unions.'Lucky shutdown'With neither side showing any sign of blinking, many couples are starting to worry they
will not be able to officially tie knot."We're still going to get married and we're still going to have our wedding, and we'll still be
happy about that," said Claire O'Rourke, who has 140 guests coming to her January 12 wedding."But, man, I would still like paperwork to be
done," she told WTOP radio.Washington mayor Muriel Bowser, aware of stakes for constituents waiting to walk down aisle, has announced
extraordinary measures to issue marriage licenses despite shutdown."Mayor Bowser will put forth emergency legislation to establish authority
to issue marriage licenses during a shutdown," said her spokesman John Falcicchio."Just like Grinch can't steal Christmas, shutdown can't
stop love," he said.In meantime, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, for whom Pollock and his wife worked, paid homage on social media
Thursday to "beautiful couple.""Like rain on your wedding day, maybe shutdowns are good luck," he said.As for other soon-to-weds, wedding
planner agency Howerton Wooten has some advice: "Get some wedding insurance," "Determine a plan B," and finally, "Don't panic
Government shutdowns are public relations nightmares for politicians, so they typically work hard to find a solution within days."(Except
for headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
