“My older brother, Jeremy, was supposed to get married this weekend.
He has been looking forward to this since he proposed, and maybe even long before that. He has been with his partner, Miguel, for over three years now. He flew to Europe in March 2018 during his fiancé’s work trip and surprised him in Amsterdam with a ring. It was truly romantic. They were surrounded by a handful of friends in front of the sculptures on the plaza.
In this time, I’ve been lucky enough to take trips to both Puerto Vallarta and Toronto with them. I’ve been able to witness them grow as a couple and see Miguel come out of his shell. After these few years, he’s really become like another brother to me.
They’ve been gradually planning every detail of the ceremony and reception. Steel gray and navy blue with orange accents for their colors. They chose the venue, and reservations were made. One by one, they asked each bridesmaid to join the wedding party. Eventually, our bridesmaid dresses came in the mail. And that’s just when the virus had started to spread.
China was facing its big breakout, and with fewer workers in their factories, our dresses would be a little bit late. No big deal, right? Or so we thought. As we know, the U.S. got hit with COVID-19 as well. Things began to shut down, and with Michigan’s Stay-At-Home order, we have all been quarantined for a while. Thankfully, we had already celebrated with a wedding shower and kick*ss bachelor party for the two of them.
Just as many other things have been canceled or have changed dates, their wedding was no exception. On March 24th, my brother and his fiancé, Miguel, decided to push the wedding back from April 25th, a date that was special to them (think Miss Congeniality), to early June. I hope things will be able to open back up by then.
My brother really, truly has some of the best friends anyone could ever ask for. They go above and beyond in every scenario and would do anything for Jeremy and Miguel. I don’t think I could have done this maid-of-honor thing without them. They all put in so much money, effort, and energy to planning everything and I can’t say thank you enough.
Last Friday, the day before the original wedding date when we were supposed to have the rehearsal, the bridesmaids devised a surprise of their own. We knew the guys were sad, and we were too! We wanted to celebrate them regardless–social distancing style. The girls used our group chat to plan out everything, and I decided would call Jeremy around the time everyone was arriving.
So, on April 25th, equipped with champagne, treats, flowers, a cake, and signs, we all met up. Some drove over two hours just to hang out, six feet apart, of course, in the parking lot of his apartment, while others called in on FaceTime.
I started it off by video chatting Jeremy at 4:00 p.m. He was on the couch lazing around, maybe even moping. ‘Have you guys planned anything special for the day?’ I asked. He turned the camera away from him: ‘Miguel is playing animal crossing,’ he laughed as Miguel focused on his Nintendo Switch.
After about 20 minutes of fussing about our mom, making jokes about each other, and asking one and another which shows we’ve been watching recently, a loud commotion started outside.
Jeremy looked around annoyed. ‘A bunch of random a**holes are honking their horns in the parking lot.’
I thought back to a message that read, ‘Are we honking and beeping?’ and I figured I would give him a little push to go out there. ‘Maybe you should go check it out,’ I shrugged, probably hinting a little too strongly. His roommate led him to the door as she and others recorded.
Jeremy walked outside and was bombarded with wild whoops and cheers and ‘I love you’s.’ As he stepped out, he called for Miguel. On their front porch was all of their gifts. He looked at me suspiciously, ‘Did you know about this?’ ‘YES!’ I said.
As his friends showed their love and support for them, he began to cry. Even over the phone, I could feel how special this moment was for them, especially since I don’t see him cry much. ‘Marry You’ by Bruno Mars blasted in the parking lot as one friend yelled ‘Happy wedding day!’
Everyone took a moment to dance, show off their signs that they worked so hard on, pop the champagne, and just take time to celebrate Jeremy and Miguel.
Over three hours away from everyone else, I was sitting outside enjoying the warm weather. Okay, it was in the mid 50’s, but it’s spring in the Mid-West. When I ended the FaceTime call, I looked to the sky and noticed a big, bright halo around the sun. This halo was a beautiful rainbow that lit up the sky. I couldn’t help but feel like it was there to celebrate them, too.
They may have not been able to say their vows in front of family and friends or dance the night away with a drink in hand, but I know that we were able to make the day special for them, even during the mentally and emotionally draining quarantine. This day was special for all of us, and even though there was no official ceremony, we will all remember April 25th, 2020 as if they got hitched.”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Alex Pierson of Millersburg, Michigan. You can follow her journey on Instagram. Submit your own story here and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
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