New York couple improvises wedding after COVID-19 crashes original plans, job layoff
Madeline and David Dougherty shares their story on ‘America’s News HQ.’
The coronavirus pandemic sweeping the country forced a New York City couple to cancel their meticulously planned March 21 wedding at the famous Chelsea Piers, and opt for an at-home wedding instead.
"David and I were really excited together, we work in the event industry and have executed hundreds of events. It was finally our turn to get married, we had a big wedding planned and about 200 guests coming from all over the country," Madeline Dougherty told "America's News HQ".
LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS: NYC COUPLE DETERMINED TO TIE THE KNOT AMID PANDEMIC
Madeline and her 36-year-old fiancé David – both of whom work in the event-planning industry – sent an email to guests on Thursday alerting them to the change in plans after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced dozens of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in New York City and declared a state of emergency.
"Obviously, with the coronavirus happening, it just wasn’t fair to ask all these people to come, nor was it safe. And we decided to hold off. We were still really dedicated to getting married, so we actually had our officiant come over this past Wednesday before New York kind of fully shut down and had five friends up on the rooftop of our building, and we did it. We got married."
Instead of an array of international cuisine and blood orange jalapeño margaritas, the couple served Shake Shack burgers to their closest family and friends while jamming out to Whitney Houston's "Higher Love," they said.
Asked what the experience taught them about each other, Madeline said she learned that her husband David "is by my side ready to jump and do whatever we need to do. He puts our relationship at the absolute forefront. He’s been supportive and just unbelievable through all of this."
She added, "I think,[if] we can make it through these next weeks of quarantine, we’re really going to be able to make it through anything."
Despite the sudden change of plans, the couple was not complaining.
"We’re just really grateful," Madeline said. "There are a lot of people in really bad situations right now, and we don’t take that lightly. We were happy to be able to get married. We just, we have approached it with gratitude and positivity throughout the entire process even though it was not at all what we thought it would be."
Fox News' Cristina Corbin contributed to this report.
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