Imagine falling in love with someone and planning to get married to them in April 2020. We would all laugh at that plan now because it would be nonexistent. It’s impossible to have a wedding while quarantined in the midst of a pandemic – unless, of course, you knew the perfect platform on which to gather your loved ones and pull off a virtual ceremony. For many couples, that platform is Zoom.
At first, I laughed when I heard that a couple tied the knot via a digital video-calling platform. I thought it was ridiculously funny. Why are people even thinking about getting married during a pandemic? I mean, it’s crazy. Doesn’t it make more sense for peoples’ focus to be on practicing social distancing and flattening the curve? Then again, who wouldn’t want to attend a wedding in pajama bottoms?
Well, welcome to the world of technology. After New York Governor Andrew Cuomo approved marriages to legally happen over the internet, inspiration struck and the Zoom wedding was born. Almost immediately, people made plans to wed their significant others online, with loved ones attending ceremonies from all across the country.
Although physically being there is an important part of a wedding, in a time of crisis, it makes sense to search for certainty. And that certainty lies, for many, in love. I think it’s quite beautiful that couples won’t let a virus stop them from getting married and living the rest of their lives together. Thank god they’re doing it safely, though.
There also comes a point at which we need to stop focusing all of our energy on Coronavirus. In all of this chaos, Zoom weddings have actually brought light and fun into people’s lives. We could all use an excuse to stop and enjoy our time, even if it’s just for an hour or two.
For our own mental health, it could be beneficial to have a Zoom wedding or any other virtual celebration to look forward to. In general, these gatherings are also just a fun way to reconnect with friends and family whom we are unable to see during this time. A definite plus of Zoom weddings is that it is much easier to Venmo some cash as a gift rather than to actually go and buy something off a registry. Gifts aside, Zoom weddings have, in some small way, brought society together during these trying times.
In the same way it hasn’t been able to stop weddings from happening, COVID-19 shouldn’t stop us from living our lives to the fullest either. Our lives will not end with this pandemic. It will eventually pass, if we are safe, responsible, and take care of ourselves. We should look for inspiration to keep going and live our lives in order to remind ourselves that we have a future. Zoom weddings represent exactly that. There is more to life than Coronavirus – and that doesn’t mean that we go out with friends and forget about social distancing. It means that we can all take measures to look for certainty even when there seems like there is none. We can find it in our homes, in the promise of true love, and, perhaps, with the help of Zoom.
