A GOVERNOR MARRIED US

Like so many couples in 2020, we had to cancel the original plans we had for our wedding — an oceanfront ceremony at Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach, scheduled for May 2. Joe and I made the decision in March following the issuing of the first stay-at-home order and were heartbroken. All the excitement and hope for that day would be postponed with no real future date in sight.

In the time leading up to May 2, we had many talks about what made the most sense. Maybe we could push it back to the fall, or maybe wait a full additional year just to be safe. But none of these options were ideal, and the conversations made our hearts hurt a little each time we had them.

Then, two weeks before May 2, we had a realization — we didn’t care about the catering, the DJ or the pomp and circumstance that normally accompanies formal ceremonies. We just wanted to be married. And with that, we were off to the races, planning a tiny ceremony that would be safe and special, just for us.

As we were trying to figure out how to get a marriage license, if it would be possible to pick up my veil,

etc., my now sister-in-law Anne, who happens to be chief of staff for Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, had an idea. What if the governor married us in an intimate ceremony via Zoom? The governor had completed his officiant training and this would be his first pandemic ceremony. Needless to say, we loved the idea.

And so, on May 2, in a gorgeous Airbnb we had rented for the weekend in Coronado, we sat in front of a computer screen surrounded virtually by our closest family and friends as the governor of Illinois married us via Zoom. “So maybe this sounds a little crazy, but I don’t think there has ever been a more romantic time to get married,” he said. “After all, it’s easy to be in love when life is full of distractions. And up until about two months ago, our lives were very full of distractions.”

We held hands and held back tears as he continued with some of the most thoughtful and accurate words to describe how Joe and I felt about that moment: “Some love stories can only exist with distractions ... but persistent love without distractions, that’s the real deal. I find that wonderfully romantic.”

The governor went on, explaining that while we had to cancel a big wedding celebration, we didn’t want to cancel our wedding. “That says more about the strength of your bond with each other than anything else.”

As we approach our first wedding anniversary, we couldn’t agree more. Since that ceremony, life has continued to throw many curveballs at us — some good and some bad — but through it all, it’s been our bond that has gotten us through and will continue to do so as we navigate this crazy life together.