SKOKIE, Ill. — Five refugee couples tied the knot Wednesday afternoon at the Skokie Courthouse in a ceremony that was anything but ordinary.

The day people get married is one most never forget, but for five refugee couples from Myanmar, the day carried extra notion.

It was a moment they were told would never happen. The Rohingya people are prosecuted, driven from their homes, denied citizenship and the right to marry.

For years, refugees have been on the move through different countries and countless refugee camps all in hopes to attain freedom. Ajiday and Mohamad Hakim have young children together, but until Wednesday afternoon, they were never allowed to legally marry.

For them, the certificate of marriage is not only a symbol of their commitment, but a paper representing the adversity they overcame to see this day.

New immigration laws have resulted in smaller numbers of refugees who make it to the U.S. and experience the freedoms the five couples celebrated at the Skokie Courthouse.