Elderly couple holds wedding online after cancellation of ceremony due to COVID-19

An elderly couple held their wedding via an online video call after their scheduled ceremony was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alvin Lee, 90, and Dorothy Driskell, 85, tied the knot from the safety of Lee’s home in Ohio, United States as per CBS News last Friday, April 10.

The two had originally planned to get married in a “big wedding” in spring but had to call it off in light of the health crisis.

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During their new wedding day, a pastor and 20 family members and friends joined the ceremony through the video conferencing app Zoom.

“It was the pastor’s first Zoom wedding” Lee’s granddaughter Jennifer Whitaker told the news outlet. Whitaker also shared a clip of a portion of the ceremony, which showed Lee reciting his wedding vows to Driskell.

Lee’s family came up with the idea of hosting the marriage online after they threw him a surprise party for his 90th birthday on the said app. The two events, celebrated through Zoom, follow social distancing guidelines introduced to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

Lee proposed to Driskell at the Cincinnati Symphony in January after meeting at a retreat center in New York last year.

While the two crossed paths in New York, they both reside in Ohio, as per report. Driskell lives in Westerville while Lee’s home is in Germantown, around two hours away from Driskell’s area.

“They became fast friends and began driving back and forth between their cities to see each other,” Whitaker was quoted as saying.

Lee and Driskell later learned that they are both widowed and have grandchildren. Lee lost his wife Rachel 11 years ago, and has four grandkids and one great-grandchild. Meanwhile, Driskell has one grandchild and lost her husband two years ago. JB

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