When Robert and Tierney Daigle planned their wedding for April 24, 2020, they didn’t expect to be saying their vows in front of a camera live-streaming to YouTube, but the development of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a change of plans for the couple.

Robert, who calls Kinston, N.C. his hometown, currently lives in Raleigh. Stay-at-home orders and social distancing requirements have led to many weddings being canceled and postponed, but Robert and Tierney decided to keep their original wedding date and instead have the ceremony virtually.

“I think our motivation was partially that we have been engaged over a year and really didn’t want to postpone our lives together any longer, and there’s still some uncertainty about when things will get better,” said Robert.

Though the virtual ceremony was originally planned to be a small affair with close family and friends, distant relatives started hearing about it and asked to join, and the couple ended up having over 200 guests viewing their live-streamed wedding.

Robert’s father officiated the ceremony remotely, and Tierney’s father played a song he wrote to give her away.

“We realized that in a time of uncertainty and in the midst of a pandemic, that hopefully our wedding could bring a bit of normalcy and positivity into the lives of our loved ones,” said Robert. “We had no idea at the time that it would be picked up by news networks, and we just hope that it brought a little ray of sunshine to those who watched it, as well as inspire anyone who may be in a similar situation.”