Kyle & Andy: A Virtual Wedding during COVID-19

In November of 2018, Andy was visiting the Dominican Republic on a business trip and Kyle was home in Salt Lake City, Utah. By chance, the two connected over the internet and started chatting. “It was revealed that we were from the same neighborhood but we didn't think much would come of it.” Despite just a chance encounter, they continued to chat over the next month and finally set a date to meet.

With the Christmas holiday right around the corner, Kyle and Andy met up for lunch. “The interest was enough that we bought each other Christmas gifts that same week!” Sparks were certainly flying.

“It was pretty clear from the get-go that we were both interested in each other. We had both ended  relationships several months before and I was just starting to come out of the closet. We helped each other navigate the course of coming out to our friends and family.” Kyle and Andy continued to date and their connection grew stronger. Nearly a year after they had first met, the idea of marriage was on their minds. They planned a trip to New York City in the week between Christmas and New Years to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway for Kyle’s birthday. The timing was perfect. Both avid fans of Harry Potter, the trip was an incredible time and lined them up in the perfect state of mind for a proposal. When Kyle wasn’t expecting it, Andy took him to the Statue of Liberty and got on one knee to ask him to be his husband.

“We had planned a nice, formal wedding with our families and closest friends. Then COVID-19 hit.” After much deliberation and rerouting, Andy and Kyle decided to go for a more intimate ceremony. “We ended up with a ceremony at International Peace Gardens with our immediate families and we did a livestream so all others could attend. The weather and setting were perfect.”

The wedding day was an incredible opportunity not only to meet each other’s distant relatives and friends virtually, but also a way to show how tender and caring their love is for one another.

“For our honeymoon, we planned a cruise to the Bahamas. Unfortunately, COVID-19 made sure that didn't happen. So, we turned our cross-country move into our honeymoon, spending several days in the Smoky Mountain of Tennessee, and spending quality bonding time in a log cabin—an ideal setting to spend our first days married to each other as we sat in the hot tub in the dark, surrounded by fireflies and the sound of crickets.”

Now, newlyweds Kyle and Andy are spending their new life together amongst the bright lights of New York. “We moved to New York from Utah one week after our wedding for Kyle to attend Physician Assistant school. I started a new job at a tech company. Since then, we have supported each other in this transition and continue to champion each other to be successful in our individual roles.”

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