All over the world, couples who’ve been waiting to say their “I dos” have come to the realization that the wait won’t be over soon.
The coronavirus pandemic has paused plans for big gatherings and put matrimony on hold for those hoping to celebrate surrounded by friends and family.
But on Tuesday, with the help of TODAY’s Hoda Kotb, six couples from six different time zones around the globe got an early wedding treat to make those late nuptials a little easier to bear.
Because, while the vows can wait a little longer, the time to dance is now!
Ashkit and Cheeshta from India, Amanda and Rhys from Australia, Jonathan and Alanna from the U.S., Chester and Amanda from the Bahamas, Gonz and Ale from Costa Rica and pop star Lesley Chiang and her partner, Pakho, from Hong Kong have all had to postpone their big days — and that’s something that Hoda knows about.
In November, Hoda said yes when her longtime partner, Joel Schiffman popped the question, and that’s given her insight into what these future brides and grooms are going through now.
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“I'm wearing white, too, because I'm in the club with y'all,” the anchor told the couples via video chat as they all gathered in their wedding-day finery. “I have a wedding date coming up, too, and we're not sure if it's going to be postponed or not.”
Amanda and Chester said the delay has been “devastating” after a year and a half of planning. For Ashkit, who’d hoped to wed in April, she said she felt as though “all my dreams are shattered.” And Lesley explained that she’s now taken to referring to her fiance as her “almost husband.”
“I know it's been a rough road,” Hoda told them all. “I know what it's like to have plans and wonder if they're going to be canceled or not.”
To help with the strain of that uncertainty, the folks from Wedding Wire gave each pair $1,000 toward their weddings.
And to help ease the disappoint that comes with the delays, Hoda had another treat.
“I know you're not the only ones kind of bummed out,” Hoda said. “Your families are a little bummed out because they wanted to be at the wedding, and we thought, well, what if they could at least see a first dance?”
And with that said, she introduced one more person to the virtual meetup — Train frontman Pat Monahan, who then performed what Hoda called “the quintessential wedding song,” his hit “Marry Me.”
While they swayed to the music and looked into each other’s eyes, the couples’ own words of hope rang out over the music.
“We’re together, and that’s what matters,” Alanna said.
That’s a sentiment echoed by Gonz and his groom-to-be Ale, “Love is always going to win. … Love wins every time.”