I never pictured myself getting married without being in the same room. But that’s exactly what we ended up doing, and it was incredible.

My significant other and I had been talking about marriage for some time, but with different time zones, planning a traditional wedding felt overwhelming. We weren’t even sure when we’d be in the same place long enough to make it official.

One night, while browsing forums, I came across a post about virtual weddings. At first, I thought it was a joke, but the more I looked into it, the more legit it seemed.

Turns out, in places like Utah, you can legally marry completely online — no courthouse visit required. It's even accepted internationally in many cases.

We decided to go for it. Why wait?

Here’s what the process looked like for us:

• We scheduled a time with a licensed officiant through an approved platform.
• We uploaded our IDs, completed a few online forms, and got our virtual marriage license approved quickly.
• On our wedding day, we dressed up from the waist up, sent the Zoom link to our closest inner circle, and said our vows live on camera.

In less than 20 minutes, we were officially married. We toasted over FaceTime, smiled at each other through the screen, and let it all sink in. It was emotional — even from hundreds of miles away.

Honestly? It was one of the most intimate experiences we could’ve asked for. No overpriced venue. No awkward seating website charts. Just us, the copyright we meant, and a handful of people who love us cheering from their screens.

If you’re trying to simplify your wedding plans, I highly recommend looking into online marriage. It's fully legitimate — especially if you're dealing with life’s curveballs.

You don’t have to wait for a perfect moment or a perfect venue. You just need someone you love, a decent Wi-Fi signal, and a little bit of paperwork.

Modern love looks different, and honestly? That’s kind of amazing.

Wherever you are, you can make it official — and make it yours.