Love (and Marriage) in the time of COVID
Several years ago, Victor, Sean, and I were at a mutual friend’s apartment in Queens, NY. Toward the end of the evening, I went to get my coat and heard the tail end of Victor & Sean’s conversation, which went a little something like “yeah… we should get married.” Me, being me, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut and blurted out “you guys just got engaged!?!?!” Turns out, they were not engaged; they were, however, engaged to be engaged.
Fast forward a couple of years to January 2020 and Victor reached out to let me know he and Sean were no longer engaged to be engaged, but were now just regular ol’ engaged. The three of us met at Bryant Park in Manhattan for drinks, to catch up, and suss out their photographic needs. Unbeknownst to us, there was a LOT about to change with the world we knew on that cold January night.
Victor & Sean had planned their marriage to take place at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, NY on October 20th. Several months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Victor reached out and let me know they were still planning to hold their wedding; surely by October things would be back to normal. As we all know now, we were young and naive, and nothing was close to normal in the fall of 2020. Victor reached out again, and let me know the sad news — the big friends and family event he and Sean had planned on would have to take place in 2021. However, they were keeping with plans and getting married on their planned date, but with a smaller, masked audience.
To say I was pleased as punch to see Victor & Sean get married, two friends I have known longer than I care to let on here, to do it in the midst of a global pandemic, and to have the honor of being entrusted with their memories… well, pleased as punch is an understatement.
I’m excited for October 20, 2021 when Victor & Sean get to have the big event full of friends, family, and love. Thankfully, Big Bird and Kermit aren’t going anywhere, and they’ll get to share in the joy of Victor & Sean’s Wedding: Part II as well.
