how to pull off an impromptu wedding amid a global pandemic
March 23, 2020 5:58 PM Subscribe
The brides wore sneakers. The officiant read a Love in the Time of Cholera passage from his apartment window four floors above. Everyone was sobbing and trying to keep a distance. The whole event happened in just three minutes.
“Matt is a performer and has a very loud, booming voice. Everyone in the neighborhood was immediately alerted to what was happening and started peeking their heads out the window and filming and cheering. It was just magical.”
“Matt is a performer and has a very loud, booming voice. Everyone in the neighborhood was immediately alerted to what was happening and started peeking their heads out the window and filming and cheering. It was just magical.”
That's adorable!
posted by tavella at 7:18 PM on March 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by tavella at 7:18 PM on March 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
Thank you for this. We all need joy.
posted by kinnakeet at 7:33 PM on March 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by kinnakeet at 7:33 PM on March 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
OMG I only saw the photo and started to cry. The pure joy! I guess I'll read the article too. <3
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:14 PM on March 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:14 PM on March 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
Love this ❤
posted by supermedusa at 8:28 PM on March 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by supermedusa at 8:28 PM on March 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
That was awesome. I don't usually watch videos, but deeply enjoyed watching the whole video at the end of the article. So much love for being able to do this with everyone social distancing.
posted by Margalo Epps at 8:45 PM on March 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Margalo Epps at 8:45 PM on March 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
I applaud the sequence of life decisions that gets newspaper reporters to refer to you as Hot Wheels.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 9:23 PM on March 23, 2020 [21 favorites]
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 9:23 PM on March 23, 2020 [21 favorites]
Awww.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:29 PM on March 23, 2020
posted by jacquilynne at 9:29 PM on March 23, 2020
Thanks, I needed this. (My wedding was supposed to be this weekend, but, well, won’t be. )
posted by nat at 9:48 PM on March 23, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by nat at 9:48 PM on March 23, 2020 [9 favorites]
I'm so sorry, nat.
posted by tzikeh at 10:00 PM on March 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by tzikeh at 10:00 PM on March 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
nat, that really sucks, I’m so sorry.
This was a really lovely story and I’m going to be haunted by the phrase “medical clown”. Like I can guess what sort of job that actually is, and I’m not especially afraid of clowns or doctors, but something about medical clown sounds like it was designed in a lab to be someone’s very specific worst nightmare.
posted by jameaterblues at 11:36 PM on March 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
This was a really lovely story and I’m going to be haunted by the phrase “medical clown”. Like I can guess what sort of job that actually is, and I’m not especially afraid of clowns or doctors, but something about medical clown sounds like it was designed in a lab to be someone’s very specific worst nightmare.
posted by jameaterblues at 11:36 PM on March 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
Oh, nat, I am so, so sorry. If your spouse to be is on metafilter, could we do a digital celebration for you? Not the same as a wedding, but I am sure that many of us would toast to you with much love.
posted by Kitchen Witch at 1:17 AM on March 24, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by Kitchen Witch at 1:17 AM on March 24, 2020 [8 favorites]
Aw, you guys are sweet. We are actually just fine, if very frustrated— we had time to postpone and most vendors have been totally reasonable about charges for it (we caught the caterer before they had bought any food, eg). So we will still have a celebration, just many months from now (and we are keeping flexible with it so if many months isn’t enough months, then ok).
We are also super lucky in that we both have jobs that allow work from home and have good health insurance, so we didn’t *need* to be married. (Unlike the couple in this post.. American health insurance is such bullshit!) Plus we already have our wedding license, so if one of us gets super sick, we can pull off our own sudden wedding. I wonder if the two required witnesses in my state can be virtual?
And yeah, we are doing some virtual meetups this weekend to do our best to celebrate— although I do fear what will happen when we try to get a few dozen relatives to sign into zoom!
posted by nat at 2:31 AM on March 24, 2020 [10 favorites]
We are also super lucky in that we both have jobs that allow work from home and have good health insurance, so we didn’t *need* to be married. (Unlike the couple in this post.. American health insurance is such bullshit!) Plus we already have our wedding license, so if one of us gets super sick, we can pull off our own sudden wedding. I wonder if the two required witnesses in my state can be virtual?
And yeah, we are doing some virtual meetups this weekend to do our best to celebrate— although I do fear what will happen when we try to get a few dozen relatives to sign into zoom!
posted by nat at 2:31 AM on March 24, 2020 [10 favorites]
That was delightful start to finish, and Reilly and Hot Wheels is the buddy-cop movie this world needs.
Elsewhere, a Minnesota couple livestreamed their living-room wedding. It's hard to beat Reilly and Amanda's charm, but I did love the procession past the fridge and the detail that some of the home viewers dressed for the occasion.
posted by Flannery Culp at 5:32 AM on March 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Elsewhere, a Minnesota couple livestreamed their living-room wedding. It's hard to beat Reilly and Amanda's charm, but I did love the procession past the fridge and the detail that some of the home viewers dressed for the occasion.
posted by Flannery Culp at 5:32 AM on March 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Related: Fiancé Recreates Wedding Cancelled By Coronavirus In Animal Crossing: New Horizons [Nintendo Life]
With the ongoing coronavirus outbreak causing havoc among events around the world, including gatherings considered non-essential, the wedding of this story's star couple was sadly cancelled. Taking things into their own hands, one of them decided to team up with their best friends to set up and plan a surprise wedding within the game, complete with a romantic beach setting.posted by Fizz at 6:16 AM on March 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
Sweet, although of course it was prompted by the very American issue of having to get married to get health insurance.
posted by octothorpe at 8:56 AM on March 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 8:56 AM on March 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
This is a sweet story! It’s also an interesting exercise in framing. For a grim counterpoint, consider the NY Post’s (ugh) “Staten Island couple still holds wedding amid coronavirus warnings”, which is much less about the affordances one takes to have a wedding in these times and much more about telling people to not get married.
posted by Going To Maine at 9:20 AM on March 24, 2020
posted by Going To Maine at 9:20 AM on March 24, 2020
This quote is just the best possible thing:
"We double-parked. We put the sunroof down and started playing whatever that Bruno Mars song is about getting married. The Glee version popped up, and I was like, “We can’t do this … I don’t know what they want as a wedding song, but I know it’s not this.”
posted by nonasuch at 9:41 AM on March 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
"We double-parked. We put the sunroof down and started playing whatever that Bruno Mars song is about getting married. The Glee version popped up, and I was like, “We can’t do this … I don’t know what they want as a wedding song, but I know it’s not this.”
posted by nonasuch at 9:41 AM on March 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Oakland couple gets married online while sheltering in place: 'I think I cried the entire time'
posted by Lexica at 12:15 PM on March 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Lexica at 12:15 PM on March 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by heyho at 6:50 PM on March 23, 2020 [2 favorites]