I never pictured myself getting married without being in the same room. But life has a funny way of working out.

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

One night, while reading wedding blogs, I came across a post about getting married online. At first, I thought it was just symbolic, but the more I looked into it, the more legit it seemed.

Turns out, in places like Utah, you can get officially hitched completely online — no need to be in the same location. 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 online marriage service.
• We uploaded our IDs, completed a few online forms, and got our electronic marriage license approved quickly.
• On our wedding day, we dressed up from the waist up, sent the Zoom link to our closest friends and family, and said our vows live on camera.

By the end of the call, we were legally joined. We toasted over video chat, 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 authentic experiences we could’ve asked for. No overpriced venue. No awkward seating online wedding charts. Just us, the copyright we meant, and a handful of people who love us cheering from their screens.

If you’re exploring wedding options, I highly recommend looking into online marriage. It's fully legitimate — especially if you're in the military.

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.

Love doesn’t follow old rules anymore, and honestly? That’s kind of amazing.

No matter the distance, you can make it official — and make it yours.