12.18.21

After Carl got out of boot camp with the Navy in July, he was not allowed to go home or leave base to see me because of COVID-19 restrictions. The only exception to this rule was for spouses but we were only engaged at that point. The only way for us to get legally married and finally reunite was to be married by proxy in Montana. This is a service only offered to Montana residents and members of the Armed Forces. Carl and I filled out all of the paperwork and found out by email on July 15th, 2020 that we were husband and wife. Our first visit finally happened in September and we have been able to see each other about once a month since. We originally planned to have our wedding and reception in my hometown, Monaco, but due to the restrictions on travel, we chose to have the wedding in Charleston. This is where Carl is stationed and was the only place we could guarantee he would be. We had no idea when we would be able to have a religious ceremony and reception to celebrate with all of our friends and family until Carl spoke to his superiors in the Navy. They informed him that the best time to have a wedding would be in December before he reports to his first duty station. We are so excited to finally get to celebrate with our family and friends!