GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Couples who were planning to get married during the end of March and the month of April are having to quickly shift gears because of social distancing, either having a small ceremony or postponing the celebration all together.
But a nurse and a physician's assistant at Metro Health found a unique venue after they decided to not let COVID-19 get in the way of their plans to get married in mid-April.
Melanie Bork and Bradley Wernette had their wedding at Metro Health.
The original plan was to get married in front of 110 family and friends in Petoskey. But COVID-19 closures made that impossible.
Instead, on Monday night, April 13, the couple tied the knot with two co-workers as witnesses and a hospital chaplain officiating. Family and friends were still able to watch the union through a live stream the hospital set up.
John DeVries has been a chaplain at Metro Health for eight years. This is not his first wedding, but normally it's when a patient is too sick to have the wedding anywhere else.
“It is really nice to have a wedding to focus on and to show there are good things going on during this unprecedented time,” DeVries said.
The couple hopes to have a party this summer with family and friends to celebrate and take a belated honeymoon trip, but for now they're just excited to be getting married.
“We can say that we’re more excited about the marriage than one day of a party and a wedding. We’re more excited about the rest of our lives and a marriage,” Bork said.
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