Wed on Feb. 14 : 147 Couples Officially Valentines

Ruben Ramirez and Eva Duque met 12 years ago in an East Los Angeles market. He was a 21- year-old clerk, she was a 12-year-old schoolgirl. “I was the neighborhood pest,” Eva recalled. “Even then, I thought one of these days I would hook him.”

Evonne Robinson was in a Crenshaw liquor store nine months ago when in walked Leonard Spell, a dapper dude dressed all in white. For Leonard, it was love at first sight. As for Evonne: “I thought he was crazy!”

Ruben and Eva were legally hooked Thursday, and so were Evonne and Leonard. They were two of the 147 couples who were married in Valentine’s Day civil ceremonies at Los Angeles County Courthouse.

The couples helped establish a record for the department of the county clerk, which took over the task of civil ceremonies from the Municipal courts in September, 1984. The previous high was 109 on Valentine’s Day, 1985, said Bettie Williams, deputy marriage commissioner.

About 35 a Day

The office averages about 35 marriages a day over the year. About 80 ceremonies are performed on the other two big wedding days--Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Marriage, it was suggested, is getting trendy.

“Everyone is getting married. It’s the thing to do,” declared Williams, who might be biased, having personally performed more than 130 ceremonies Thursday. “Instead of living together, a lot of people want to get married.”

There is, perhaps, a microtrend in re-marriage. “I had three couples today who were married, got divorced, and came in to marry each other again,” Williams said.

The nuptials, which cost $15, tended to be quick and casual. Some couples dressed up for the occasion, others didn’t bother. Often, the couple’s children served as witnesses. The office is equipped with a small, plain chapel, but the overload forced Williams to take over a second office.

Marriage in Haste

For many couples, getting married was almost a spur-of-the-moment decision. There were no reports of cold feet.

When one marriage was finished, Williams would offer quick congratulations, then stick her head into the hall and call for the next couple: “Ramon and Ginger!”

Ramon Tinoco and Ginger Kesterson, sweethearts for 2 1/2 years, were married with year-old daughter Estella holding on to her mother’s hand.

Later, Ginger Tinoco said that she and Ramon decided to get married Wednesday. Asked if they had plans for a honeymoon, the Lynwood couple gave a harried, incredulous look. “I’ve got two other kids waiting for us back there,” the bride said.

Something Like Eloping

The Robinsons, who had been engaged six months, said that on Monday they had the impulse to “semi-elope” on Valentine’s Day. Accompanied by Leonard’s brother and a friend, they went to the courthouse in a $40-an-hour limousine, sipping cognac en route. After they were pronounced husband and wife, Leonard did not wait for permission to kiss the bride, and he did not stop for a while. “I feel lucky,” he said later.

The honeymoon would begin immediately. “It will start here in Los Angeles. After that, it’s a secret.”

Ruben and Eva Ramirez had been planning to marry on March 28; now, that date will only serve as a reception. They have lived together four years and decided on Wednesday that a Valentine’s Day marriage would be more romantic.

They are planning to go to Hawaii in a few months; a baby is due in June.

“We’ve been together four years. . . . We share everything,” Ruben said. “After a while you feel like making it right.”