KAYSVILLE — The coronavirus crisis could have canceled their wedding ceremony, but one couple found a creative way to get hitched while keeping loved ones close — but still six feet apart.
After the spring wedding plans of Ann Marcusen, 83, and Enoch Bell, 75, fell through, the couple invited close relatives to attend their nuptials at Marcusen’s Kaysville home on April 24.
“I think this was almost more fun than a regular wedding,” said Holly Wright, one of Marcusen’s six daughters who attended.
During the ceremony, guests practiced social distancing measures and stood several feet apart from each other — including the couple, Wright said.
The wedding was officiated by Marcusen’s Latter-day Saint bishop. Marcusen’s oldest daughter and Bell’s daughter served as witnesses. And a neighbor provided music through a speaker.
After exchanging their vows, the newlyweds and guests strolled around the neighborhood while neighbors and friends cheered from their homes and cars, held handmade posters and rang wedding bells, which also served as an endearing gesture to Bell’s last name.
“Even though it’s the coronavirus season, they still got to enjoy their wedding and they got to celebrate with lots of friends and neighbors,” Wright said.
In early March, the couple first announced their engagement and scheduled their May 9 wedding date. But due to developing recommendations and restrictions from state and health officials to curb the pandemic’s spread, the couple pushed their wedding date further out, according to Wright, before deciding to have the wedding at home.
Wright said she was able to attend the wedding with her five sisters, while her three brothers who live in Colorado, Idaho and Virginia watched on Zoom, a video conferencing software.
Marcusen, who turns 84 next month, wore a pink blazer and floral skirt to her wedding and Bell wore a pink tie.
The couple is currently spending their honeymoon in St. George, according to Wright.