Megan Kennedy and Thomas Cahoon have been together since 2017.
They met online. Kristian Leven Photography
Kennedy and Cahoon met on Match.com in 2017.
They had both opened their profiles recently when they matched; Kennedy had only created her account nine days before she messaged Cahoon.
“He replied straight away, and then we met four days later,” Kennedy said. “We’ve literally been together ever since.”
“It was like the best success story ever from online dating,” she added.
The couple was originally supposed to get married in March 2020, but they had to postpone because of the coronavirus pandemic.
They had to postpone their wedding. Kristian Leven Photography
Their wedding was originally supposed to have 200 guests, so it wasn’t going to work.
They rescheduled the wedding for October 2020 and planned to have just 30 guests in order to adhere to safety guidelines in London at the time.
But two weeks before the wedding, they had to limit the guest list even more.
They could only have 15 guests. Kristian Leven Photography
“They changed the guidelines, so only 15 people could go to our wedding,” Kennedy told Insider.
The UK has since gone into lockdown to try to contain the virus, but at the time, small groups were still allowed to gather.
Cahoon and Kennedy only invited family members to the wedding, which meant most of Kennedy’s bridesmaids, including her maid of honor, couldn’t attend.
As she thought about how to change her bridal party, Kennedy decided to find two very special replacement bridesmaids.
Kennedy decided to ask her grandmothers to be her bridesmaids.
Kennedy with her grandmothers. Kristian Leven Photography
Kennedy is close with both of her grandmothers: Gillian Holloway, 80, and Mary Kennedy, 90.
Because they play such a big role in her life and the event would be so small, she thought it made sense for them to be her bridesmaids.
“I just said, ‘Look, I’d love it if you were there with me. You’re my most important people,'” Kennedy said of how she asked her grandmothers to be her bridesmaids.
“We just want you to feel like VIPs,” she also told them.
The grandmothers thought she was kidding at first, but when they finally believed she was serious, they were all for it.
Kennedy made her grandmothers’ safety a priority throughout the wedding.
Kennedy kept them as safe as possible. Kristian Leven Photography
The ceremony took place in a church that can accommodate 200 people, but only 15 people were there on the wedding day.
Both of Kennedy’s grandmothers were seated with people from their own households and were socially distant from everyone else, and everyone in the church had to use hand sanitizer upon entering and exiting. All of the guests also wore masks.
Kennedy and Cahoon isolated as much as they could in the 10 days before the wedding to decrease their chances of getting sick.
No one was exposed to the coronavirus at their wedding.
Both grandmothers use wheelchairs, but one of them was able to walk with a cane and support during the wedding.
Kennedy was emotional. Kristian Leven Photography
They came into the ceremony just ahead of Kennedy, and she told Insider she was emotional watching them.
“It was really emotional, because I just couldn’t believe we were finally getting married after such a big year,” she said.
Plus, Kennedy hadn’t been able to see her grandmothers much throughout the year, so having them at her wedding felt extra important.
Kennedy and her grandmothers carried bouquets made by Bloom East.
Kennedy said her grandmothers loved being part of the wedding.
They felt special. Kristian Leven Photography
They were “so proud” to be bridesmaids, according to Kennedy.
“There’s only been bad news this year, especially for them, and it’s been a really scary time,” she went on to say. “It was nice for them to feel special.”
Both of her grandmothers have been home for the vast majority of the pandemic, so it was refreshing for them to get to go out and be at such an important event for their granddaughter.
The grandmothers were able to pose for a few pictures before leaving the ceremony.
They posed with their granddaughter. Kristian Leven Photography
After the ceremony, Kennedy’s grandmothers were rolled away from the rest of the group so they could celebrate briefly from a safe distance.
When they posed for photos, they were outside, and it took less than a minute for the photographer, Kristian Leven, to snap their pictures.
They then left, ensuring they were around others as little as possible throughout the day — while still getting to celebrate their granddaughter.
Kennedy and Thomas were thrilled they were finally able to tie the knot.
They waited so long to get married. Kristian Leven Photography
“It meant so much more because of what we had to overcome to actually get married,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy told Insider that walking down the aisle was her favorite part of her wedding day.
She loved walking down the aisle. Kristian Leven Photography
She said the moment was special because as she walked down the aisle, it hit her she was finally getting married, her grandmothers were there, and Cahoon looked “so happy” to see her.
Her friends also surprised her with a socially distant send-off from the street, which made the day extra special.
Kennedy loves how comfortable Cahoon makes her feel.
They’re at ease together. Kristian Leven Photography
“We can both 100% just be ourselves the whole time,” she said. “There’s no pretending, no pretense.”
Things were so natural from the very start of their relationship that they wondered if they had already met before, but they hadn’t.
“It just feels like we’ve known each other forever,” she said of her husband.
The newlyweds. Kristian Leven Photography
Cahoon and Kennedy are hoping to have a larger wedding celebration at the end of 2021.
You can see more of Leven’s work here.
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Read the original article on Insider
