A pair of protesters who met six weeks ago while camped out at Zuccotti Park for the Occupy Wall Street movement got married Sunday.
Emery Abdel-Latif, 24, of West Chester County, Pa., and Micha Balon, 19, of Staten Island, tied the knot in a traditional Muslim ceremony on Trinity Place and Liberty Street, on a small bench next to the park's sculpture of a seated man with a briefcase, the Daily News reports.
The wedding was officiated by Khalid Latif, the chaplain at the New York University, in front of about a dozen friends and fellow protesters.
"Neither of us believed in love before we came here, and now that we found each other, we believe it exists," the groom told the News before the wedding.
"We are fighting for equality here," Balon added later. "This is a great way to start off our marriage."
Balon, who wore a white skirt and blouse with a small cloak, said the wedding site was appropriate. "We met here and it's cheap," she told the News. "We don't have to pay anything."
Abdel-Latif was living with his parents and applying to law schools when he decided to move to the park nearly two months ago.
Balon, an undergraduate in Middle East studies at Hunter College, met her future husband at her encampment. The two went on dates at nearby eateries and spent time at the park discussing politics and their shared Muslim faith, according to the News.
Abdel-Latif told the News he planned to find a job and settle in New York with Balon.
The two are currently living in separate tents at Zuccotti Park, and plan to stay through the winter, though they're not sure if they're moving int a shared tent after they get married.
A friend of Balon's from Hunter, 19-year-old Quainat Zaman, observed to the News of the wedding, "It was emotional. I think it's a cute love story — one of the cutest I've ever heard."