Chicago Couple Hosts Virtual Wedding Amid Coronavirus Shutdown

CHICAGO, IL — Desperate times call for inventive measures, as one Chicago couple proved by hosting a virtual wedding on Zoom during the coronavirus shutdown.

Writers and educators Gina Frangello and Rob Roberge had initially planned a June wedding in California, but decided at the last minute to reschedule after they realized the current situation might impact traveling and events in California.

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So, instead of sending out invitations this week, Frangello and Roberge decided to just go ahead and get married. There was one problem, though, no one could really attend a wedding given the current coronavirus outbreak and Governor J.B. Pritzker's stay-at-home order.

"We decided to Zoom our wedding the day before it happened," Frangello said. That's also when the couple first learned how to use Zoom.

Frangello told Patch they sent out 80 virtual invitations and got a whopping 67 people to tune in. How's that for RSVPs?

Some couples even dressed up for the remote festivities.

Frangello added that their kids —and three cats— were in attendance. One cat even appropriately munched on the wedding bouquet.

Frangello said of the experience, "The wedding—seeing all those faces on the screen of people who have watched our relationship evolve these years, and who have loved and supported us—was among the most uplifting and loving experiences of my life. There would have been no way on earth to host a wedding for about 70 people (our kids included) in less than 24 hours if it hadn’t been virtual...so in some ways that was a rare and magical thing. "