Love and faith endure during pandemic
“I found the one whom my soul loves.”
— Song of Solomon 3:4
NORMAN — It felt like a race against time.
Alex Eddy and Lara Keddissi had planned to wed in mid-April but they realized they would have to make some adjustments to their plans when the coronavirus outbreak began to change everyday life in America.
Once they decided to move up their wedding date, they made it to the Cleveland County Courthouse just in time to get their marriage license before that service was temporarily discontinued to limit spread of the coronavirus.
Then, Lara called Linh's Bridal to see if she could get her wedding dress earlier than planned. She worried a little that the establishment wouldn't have the alterations done yet.
The bride to be was relieved to learn that the modifications had been completed. “They said `You're not going to believe this. We finished your dress last night!'” Lara said. “It fit like a glove — it was perfect. If we had called an hour later, they would have been shut down for COVID-19. I was very grateful.”
The couple began dating in June 2016, having met at St. Thomas More University Parish on the University of Oklahoma campus. Lara had been a freshman pre-med student and Alex was working on his master's degree in meteorology at the time. Their romance blossomed after the two developed a friendship at weekly ministry events.
Alex proposed to Lara in May 2019 at the church. They both felt it would be only fitting to marry at the house of worship where their love story began and they did just that.
The pair said Christ is the cornerstone of their relationship, and He always will be.
The couple wed on March 28, with Rev. Jim Goins, St. Thomas More's pastor, as officiant.
The church ended up being one of a handful of wedding details that the pair didn't have to change due to the pandemic.
But they were OK with that. “We were thinking that the most important thing was that we get married,” Alex said.
Instead of a wedding with 300 invitees, the couple wed in a small, intimate ceremony. To follow social distancing guidelines, only the couple's parents were in attendance, along with Lara's sister Celine Keddissi, who served as the maid of honor, and Alex's friend Gabriel Machado, who served as his best man.
Lara said saying “I do” to the love of her life outweighed any disappointment, though she felt some chagrin initially.
“For me, as the bride it was very hard on me. Just one by one, everything we had planned changed within five days. But I think it really humbled us,” she said.
Alex agreed. “It was a little bit of a shock, but the way things turned out was great,” he said.
One modification they were happy to make was the live streaming of the wedding via Facebook Live. The couple said people all over the world were able to view the nuptials, including Lara's relatives in Lebanon.
Goins said he admired the couple's determination. “To be honest, I was very surprised when they moved their wedding date up and embraced the restrictions of a `pandemic' wedding,” he said. “To me, that moment when the bride enters to a crowded church and all rise to honor her is breathtaking. But their love for each other filled the space. She radiated a beauty that defied the emptiness of the church.”
The priest said he will always remember the couple's nuptials. “It will remain in my memory one of my favorite weddings ever,” he said.
The newlyweds spent the days after their wedding going on long walks and eating smoothies. They said their original honeymoon was a trip to Seattle, where they planned to board a cruise ship bound to Alaska. They had to cancel that trip and their back up plan was a trip to a resort in Branson, Missouri. Soon, they received word that the resort was shutting down due to concerns about the coronavirus.
The couple's didn't get the big wedding they envisioned but they hope to celebrate with a large crowd of family and friends in the fall.
The Eddys plan to have a vow renewal ceremony in November at St. Thomas More, with a reception planned at another venue. Editor's note: Are you a metro area couple whose wedding plans changed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic? Let us know. Email your name, city and daytime phone number to Carla Hinton at chinton@oklahoman.com. Your story may be featured in a future edition of the “With This Ring” series.