Beatriz Castaneda and her soon-to-be husband Ric Kuehne had planned a small wedding for mid-March. But they had to change their plans quickly when it became clear that none of their wedding guests would be able to travel safely to San Marcos because of the rapidly spreading coronavirus.
Instead, around 45 guests from Colorado, California, Mexico and even Italy watched last Saturday's ceremony on a video conference call.
"Rescheduling our wedding would have been really hard for them, so this is the best we can do and it's so wonderful to have the technology. They are with us here," Castaneda said.
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Castaneda's daughter, Erica Dukleth, is under quarantine in Italy where she moved a few weeks ago to work as a nanny.
"It's very, it's strange to see my own mom get married on Zoom...She means the universe to me, so her happiness is my happiness too and I'm really happy she met a guy like Ric," Dukleth said.
Despite both families not being able to meet in person, they shared loving words of advice for the newlyweds.
"I would just encourage them to remain committed to each other and when things get tough, when times get difficult, to remain committed to one another," said Asa Wilson, the husband of Kuehne's sister, who watched the ceremony from Colorado.
After being together for three years and getting married in the middle of a global pandemic, they say they're confident their love can get them through anything.
"She's the sweetest person I've ever met, so I knew pretty much when I met her how special she is. It didn't take long," Kuehne said.
"When I saw how caring he is, he's a very caring person and I knew he was the one for me," Castaneda said.
They know their support system, all over the world, has their backs no matter what life throws at them.
