COLUMBIA, S.C. — Many couples are postponing their weddings due to COVID-19, but one Columbia couple still found a way to say their vows and have loved ones attend virtually by using Facebook live.
"We finally said lets just do it," newly wed Jennifer Coffey said.
Newly weds Robert Arcovio and Jennifer Coffey, like many, will always remember the day they said I do, but unlike many couples, it wasn't the wedding they originally planned.
Instead of guests, it was only them, their officiant, photographer and one friend. Plus a cell phone to stream it all on Facebook live.
"At that two week mark, we decided to go ahead and do it," Coffey said.
Arcovio proposed to Coffey in Hilton Head and they were engaged in July of 2019. The two set a date for Saturday April 4, 2020.
As COVID-19 turned into a pandemic the couple had to decide what they would do about their big day.
"We finally heard from our venue which was the SC State Museum that they were closing and that we would need to postpone," Coffey said. "We were thinking of postponing to June or later this summer, but at the same time my mom was recently diagnosed with cancer, so we would not be able to easily chose a date."
The couple quickly made a plan B. A friend kindly offered their dock along Lake Murray as a new venue and they still found a way to share the special moment with friends and family through Facebook live.
"We wanted them to be a part of it and thought this would be the best way to involve everyone without putting them at risk," Arcovio said. "Even the day before we had our wedding rehearsal dinner on zoom."
The couple still shared the traditional first dance and cut their cake together.
"I wouldn't change a thing," Arcovio said. "It was really nice, the weather was perfect."
"It was still exciting the whole day, and it actually felt really normal," Coffey said. "We weren't thinking about the global pandemic, we were just having our wedding day."
The day they said I do forever will be a day they will never forget.
"They always tell you when you are planning your wedding and things start going wrong the important thing at the end of it is you end up married, and I think were a pretty good testament for that," Arcovio said.
Next year the couple plans to have a celebration and vow renewal with family and friends in attendance instead of on Facebook live so they can all celebrate their one year anniversary together.
For now they are celebrating their honeymoon being quarantined at home.