The coronavirus outbreak has put a hold on a lot of plans. Birthdays, festivals, graduations, weddings — just about everyone has had something canceled at this point, and its likely to continue happening.
But one couple who had planned on tying the knot in October decided they didn’t want to wait around to see if the world would be functioning like normal again in the fall.
New Yorkers Reilly Jennings and Amanda Wheeler got their marriage license early and were headed to the courthouse when, according to Reilly’s Instagram post, the mayor announced the closure of the marriage bureau.
The two were at a loss until a friend, Matt Wilson, told them he was ordained and offered to marry them immediately.
But we’re still in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, so everyone at this unconventional wedding took the utmost care when it came to practicing social distancing.
Reilly and Amanda got dressed up and stood in the street outside Matt’s apartment building. Matt shouted down the ceremony from his fourth floor window. And their guests watched from nearby cars parked on the street behind them.
It’s the kind of creative ingenuity that New Yorkers, and the LGBTQ community, always bring to unconventional situations, and it’s certainly a wedding no one in attendance will ever forget.
“Amidst the uncertainty and despair we all feel right now, marrying the love of my life in the most NYC moment was perfect,” Reilly wrote. “I’ve waited 4 years to call [Amanda] my wife and this was all just the cherry on top of the love I feel every day.”
