Pandemic or not, the marriage must go on for these RI medical residents
A wedding day is of course an already memorable occasion. But imagine getting married in the middle of working through a global pandemic.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – A wedding day is of course an already memorable occasion. But imagine getting married in the middle of working through a global pandemic.
Well that’s what two medical residents at Rhode Island Hospital decided to do this past weekend.
Photo provided by the happy couple.
Couples across the world are making the tough decision to postpone or cancel their weddings because of the coronavirus. Brandon and Sarah are no different.
“The stress built up right before we had to postpone because we’re like, ‘What’s going to happen,
what are we going to do, what’s going to happen with Covid?'” said Groom Brandon James.
They couple says ultimately it was their work in the medical field that helped them decide to postpone their big wedding in Virginia to next year.
“The idea of asking people to travel from around the country to celebrate us and then potentially getting sick kind of made us sick to our stomachs,” said Bride Sarah Rhoads.
But the two decided they still wanted to be officially married on their original date, even if it was just the two of them in Rhode Island.
“The idea of still getting married but not having our families there was really hard for me,” said Rhoads.
But it almost didn’t happen.
The two still needed to secure a marriage license while all city buildings are closed. They ultimately got in contact with the governor whose team helped coordinate getting the license at city hall, just in time.
“I begged, basically,” said Rhoads.
It was this past Saturday when they walked down to the Providence pedestrian bridge and said ‘I do,’ in front of their socially distanced colleagues.
The director of their program even officiated the wedding.
Photo provided by the happy couple.
“It was amazing,” recalled Rhoads. “We felt so much love. And our friends surprised us so much in how special they wanted the day to be for us. It was really magical.”
The two will celebrate with their families next year, after being an official married couple for one year.
