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COURIER LIFE, MAY 8-14, 2020 15
How couples are
getting married
in quarantine
BY MEAGHAN
MCGOLDRICK
For New Yorker Jim
Rohner, the choice to
move forward with his
wedding to Emma Aarnes
was as diffi cult as it was
the easiest decision he’s
ever made.
Rohner, 36, and Emma
Aarnes, 35, were slated to
be wed on March 22. But,
as they entered their wedding
month and the harsh
realities of the coronavirus
pandemic loomed,
the two knew they had to
come up with a Plan B.
The day of Rohner and
Aarnes’ wedding, Gov.
Andrew Cuomo issued
a statewide shutdown of
non-essential services,
and urged New Yorkers
to help stem the virus’
spread by staying at home
and avoiding large gatherings
— like the pair’s
planned 150-person wedding
in Chelsea.
The couple had already
decided to postpone
their celebration
due to increasing concerns
about the safety
of their guests. But, less
than a week later — when
Mayor Bill de Blasio
warned that a shelter-inplace
order was coming,
they pivoted to Plan C.
“We had already had
to compromise so much
with the pandemic getting
worse that we didn’t
want our story to be dictated
by forces beyond
our control anymore,”
Rohner said.
In a matter of hours,
the pair gathered their
witnesses, a friend who
could photograph and a
last-minute offi ciant.
By 7 pm on March 17,
Rohner and Aarnes were
married at a park near
their home.
With no immediate
end in sight to the city’s
shelter-at-home mandate,
more and more couples
are left feeling uncertain,
and having to make diffi -
cult decisions. Some have
postponed their ceremonies
and receptions entirely,
while others have
opted for more private
Emma Aarnes and Jim Rohner.
Photo by Benny Krown
at-home observances,
thanks in large part to
having obtained marriage
licenses prior to the
outbreak.
And now, thanks to
an executive order, New
Yorkers can do the deed
online.
On April 18 Cuomo
announced that the state
would allow couples to
obtain marriage licenses
remotely, and that clerks
would be authorized to
perform virtual weddings
as part of a process
dubbed Project Cupid.
Prior to the executive
order, the law required
couples looking to get
married to obtain a marriage
license in person.
The new system — available
in 11 languages —
allows couples to virtually
schedule and attend
an appointment with the
City Clerk’s offi ce, securely
upload required
documents and upload a
signed marriage license
once the ceremony is
complete.
“We need moments of
joy now more than ever,
and we won’t let a pandemic
get in the way of
true love,” said Mayor de
Blasio said.
“I think it’s a great
decision,” Rohner said,
noting also that it makes
a damn good story. “It
may not be a wedding on
a beach or in a swanky
location in Downtown
Brooklyn, but just imagine
telling the grandkids
how you both had to persevere
in a pandemic.
Love is love.”
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