Kiss-Off for Guinness World Record

While some couples may publicly display their love for one another by sending flowers and chocolates to the office, two couples in Santa Barbara have decided to set a world record for most kisses in a minute instead.

In one corner we have UCSB seniors Paul Fremeau and Alina Evans, in the other local residents Eric Chehami and Jessica Bunrell, battling it out for not only the Guinness World Record for most kisses by a pair in 60 seconds, but also a one night all-expenses paid getaway in the Presidential Suite of the Canary Hotel, valued at $3,200, where they will be met with champagne and breakfast in bed the following morning.

Tremblay Financial hosted the event, while owner Tim Tremblay, along with America’s Romance Guru and author of The Finance of Romance: Investing In Your Relationship Portfolio Leon Scott Baxter, were the judges. Baxter also provided signed copies of his book to both couples.

Sitting less than a foot away, Tremblay and Baxter judged and counted how many times each couple kissed. According to the guidelines of the competition, the kisses could be given on any part of the face, while a separate kiss included a removal of the lips from contact with the face between each kiss. First up was Fremeau and Evans, who employed a surprising technique by having Fremeau kiss the forehead of Evans 254 times in one minute. Fremeau said they went with such an unorthodox strategy because it was the one that not only worked best but also proved to be least injurious for both individuals given the speed and rate of each kiss.

“Our noses kept getting in the way, and it was important we didn’t end up with bloody lips,” Fremeau explained jokingly.

Chehami and Bunrell followed with a more traditional approach, kissing on the side of each other’s lips as quickly as they could. Although they ended up losing the competition by completing only 214 kisses, Chehami stated that it had been all for fun anyways.

“Even though it was a little unnerving, it was for a good cause,” added Bunrell, who was fighting off a cold during the competition.

Baxter said he had the idea for the competition for quite a while and talked it over with Tremblay, with the focus not only a celebration of romance, but also the importance of financially investing in couples. The preliminary competition a few days prior had consisted of couples donating $10 to Kidz for a Cure, a charity created to inspire children to help fight pediatric cancer.

“It was a lot of fun doing this on Valentine’s Day, especially for such a great cause,” said Tremblay.

Documentation signed by witnesses, along with video footage, will be sent to the Guinness Book of World Records to await final judgment.