- I call her, and you know, we're just like hysteric,
just can't even comprehend the fact
that you spent a year and a half
planning this, and we've paid this non-refundable deposit,
they're basically like, well you can reschedule,
or you can reschedule.
- Yeah.
- I'm Shanna, I'm 28, I'm an elementary PE teacher.
- I am Kaihla, I'm 32, I work at a non-profit now,
and looking to become a teacher as well.
I see 700, 800 kids and then like, I'm that common
denominator I mean, so it's very stressful.
We actually met online, on Bumble.
- [Shanna] Mhmm.
- I never even was online before like that, so I was.
- I think your sister made the profile for you, right?
- Yeah, so, I didn't really know what to expect,
and then I also got catfished a lot too, so I'm like,
definitely thinking, you know,
'course I'm gonna be catfished,
like that would be me. This girl could not be her.
- And I think my selling point was, I promise
I'm not a serial killer .
- Yeah, I'm like you still could be.
- [Shanna] And then once, I think,
we got to know each other,
then we hung out all the time. - Yeah.
- I had told my best friend a month and a half
into dating 'I think I'm gonna marry her'.
And she's like, 'are you crazy? You've been dating
this person for like six or eight weeks,
how would you know that like, everybody says,
'oh, this person's different, this person's different'
and I was like, no, I know everybody says that,
but for real, this person's different,
I really think I'm gonna marry her.
I proposed in Savannah, and it's like this really beautiful
drive and it's a mile and a half of these oaks
and these super old trees, and it's beautiful, you know
the moss is hanging over the driveway,
it's really pretty. - Yeah, it's really pretty.
- And I rented it out early before it opened
and my friend, she was like hiding in her truck,
and she's a photographer so she took our, you know,
kinda candid pictures there.
I'd say within a week, we were already looking at venues,
we ended up booking this place,
it's called Santa Fe River Ranch,
about 30 minutes north of us,
it's in the middle of nowhere, it's a working farm,
it was just a really beautiful venue.
You and I had went up there first and toured it,
and then we brought her mum with us,
and she was like, 'Oh my God, I love this'
and she's crying, and - Yeah. Yeah.
- It was really great.
I'd say we're the month and a half
out from our wedding, - Yeah.
- And I'm, had a conversation with Kaihla
and I was like, 'do you think we're gonna have
to cancel our wedding?' Like, and no, this,
we won't have to cancel our wedding.
- Yeah. My work closed down for a couple months,
so that was also, like, terrifying too,
'cause like, holy crap am I losing my job,
like, can we do this, can we afford this?
Covid was such a big thing, but then on top of that,
dealing with why can't people come?
- There are people from our families that didn't agree
with us as a couple getting married,
are they not coming 'cause they don't want to get sick,
are they not coming because they don't agree
with what we're doing,
that we're together? - Yeah.
- That's something that I feel like all same-sex couples
face anyways, and then on top of that, so, you know,
with everything going on with this illness, it was.
- Yeah. A lot.
I felt like we couldn't catch a break.
One thing after the other after the other,
and I was like 'this is the one thing
that you look forward to or like'
- And dream of that.
- Yeah, I don't necessarily like to be in the spotlight
of anything, so I'm like 'this one time that it was supposed
to be about us', I was not probably fun to be around,
'cause I just felt like, a leaf falls and I'm crying.
If it wasn't her upset, it was me. We were at each other
a lot more, just because it was like such a tense situation,
and there are so many uncontrollables.
Not just the wedding, but figuring out, like,
our livelihood, you were off for a couple months,
but were you gonna get paid? And my job, you know,
we were closed for two months, and so like,
the stress of like, having you know,
are we gonna be able to have a job?
- No romantic moment. - Yeah.
- Everything was business.
- Business, or work, or I'm stressed, or I'm doing this,
I'm doing that, so I think we kind of hit a breaking point,
and both had to really refocus on like,
why we're doing this, and I think
that kind of grounded us a little bit.
- The date was important. It was something we were looking
forward to, we had this vision of what it is
and what it's supposed to be, and getting over the fact
that that's not what it was going to be,
but then we can still have that date, so then,
I reached out to my mum, and was like,
'Hey, can we do it in your backyard?'
So, we actually did have like, a little ceremony,
just with my parents, her parents, my sister.
- Two friends came. - Yeah, two friends came.
- And, everybody's in little pairs,
we did up parts of the yard, and we built our own arbor.
- I felt like the day was perfect for what it was.
Actually like, the ability to be married?
Having it at my parents house was just really special
because I felt like it was like a memory
that my mum would always remember, so I was excited
that I could share that memory with her,
and get ready in her bathroom and stuff like that.
And it was like.
- It was very emotional.
- Yeah.
- Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today,
to join Kaihla and Shanna
in the spiritual union of marriage.
- When I was up there, I just remember
like I couldn't even say anything.
Shanna.
You are my number one. I promise to always put us first.
You are my sunshine, my rock and my favorite person.
I choose you, and I'll always choose you,
over and over, without a pause.
Without a doubt, in a heartbeat, I'll always choose you.
- Kaihla. You are my calming voice,
when I get overwhelmed, and my kick in the ass,
when I need motivation.
I vow to do my part to keep that balance strong,
to cook you dinner more often than we get takeout,
to take care of our fur babies, and future real ones,
to make sure you know how loved and appreciated you are.
To learn from my mistakes when I make them,
because I will, a lot.
To be your pupil for the rest of our lives. I love you.
- By the authority vested in me, by the state of Florida,
I now pronounce you married. You may kiss your bride.
- We were already married at that point,
but I still feel like it was something we envisioned.
That's our special day, we wanted to wear our outfits.
They're booked out until 2022, like it's not like
we could just be like 'oh, well let's have this date.'
- Did definitely hit a window, because things were kind of
starting to work. - They started opening up.
- The venue was great. For our ceremony,
they had, you know the white cute folding chairs,
and they would have them in groups of two or three,
and then they would have a space.
We made like designated tables for just our two families,
and then it was just like, lunch room style seating.
- Yeah. - If you wanted to sit,
just you and who you came with, separate from other people,
and they were able to spread out comfortably.
- The venue was way bigger than what our party was,
so it kind of seems like it was, like, a bit extreme,
the barn was huge, but like, knowing that, you know,
if our full guest list would've been there,
it would've felt like a full crowd.
I think the biggest thing was just those memories.
I wanted those memories because it's a once-in-a-lifetime
thing. It solidifies things, it's like, this is real.
- Whatever the day is, it's gonna be special.
So, sweating those little things that you've,
maybe have dreamed of or you thought were gonna be,
in the end it all works out, and it's exactly
what it's supposed to be.
- It's as special - Yeah.
- As you make it, with, like, what you have,
but you, so, you know, we had a hard time
letting go of our expectations of what our wedding
was gonna look like. You know, you're dreaming of it
for a year or two years, or however long
you're waiting to have your wedding, and then,
you're having to deal with these adjustments,
and it feels like let-downs, but we still felt like
it was the best day, even with the little changes
or big changes that we had.
- This is forever. You know, you figure out a way,
and so, understanding we've had rough times before,
in terms of like, what we had to go through
and the ups and the downs, and just making it through that,
you have this, 'okay, so this is how
we can get through things'.
- Something that my dad kept saying to us, is that,
you will, not just like you know,
you never forget your wedding but like you will never forget
you're one of the people who had to try and get married
during this. Who knows how long this will last,
or how this will really impact history in the future?
Like, you have these stories to tell to people,
you know, years from now, when like, you know,
hopefully goes back to normal,
that you know, it's just like a blip.
And, you have these stories to tell.
- We are literally seeing the events industry deteriorate
and transform right before our eyes.
I think it's going to be at least five or six years
until we are comfortable meeting with others,
and that's why I tell people 'strap in'.
My clients now, are challenged to ask themselves,
'what about this is important to me?'