The recent coronavirus outbreak has caused a number of couples to postpone or cancel their marriages but one couple from New York came up with something creative to make their big day happen on the scheduled date.
They made it possible for their would-be guests to see them say “I do” while maintaining safe social distance.
Anthony Shirk and his partner Alex Fishman, both aged 29, were scheduled to marry last Saturday at the Roundhouse in Beacon, New York.
But keeping in mind the rising fear of COVID-19 and due to the potential health risk for their guests, the couple decided to postpone their matrimonial ceremonies until November.
However, the couple, who had been dating for a year and a half, later decided that it was the time for them to finally tie the knot.
So they married on the day they had decided earlier. The proceedings of the day were seen by their relatives and friends live via video conferencing platform Zoom.
“We feel at ease now being a married couple and hopefully providing our families and friends with at least a little bit of happiness during these couple of weeks that have been very challenging,” Fishman told PEOPLE.
According to Fishman, their marriage was streamed live by around 20 members of their immediate family and some of their close friends.
The function was held in Battery Park which is just a walk from the couple’s residence in the Financial District.
The ceremony was physically attended by four of their friends, and the officiants were “all socially distant,” according to Fishman.
“We wanted to maintain the excitement for the November date because we didn’t exchange vows,” Fishman said about reducing the number of their guests. “We’re saving those for the big day.”
The couple had planned a honeymoon in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after their marriage but they have postponed that too until after their November ceremony.
New York is one of the most affected places by coronavirus right now. So far, the state has 25,665 confirmed cases with 210 deaths linked to the disease.
Shirk told PEOPLE: “It concretizes the most basic atomic unit of marriage, is the way that we view it, of abstracting all of the glam, the glitz, and the resources that you invest in planning a wedding.”
He added: “At the end of the day, it’s about a union of two people and the unrelenting commitment, in spite of all the external factors that are happening in the world.
“So I think it’s just a reminder of what a marriage entails.”
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