St. Augustine, Fla. — COVID-19 has forced a number of brides and grooms to postpone their weddings.
But De'Shazo Wilkinson was determined to make the special day happen for his bride.
"I wasn’t gonna let anything stop us from becoming husband and wife!" Wilkinson excitedly told Action News Jax.
Action News Jax reporter Courtney Cole takes us to the surprise ceremony in downtown St. Augustine.
"It feels amazing!" exclaimed De'Shazo Wilkinson.
"It feels amazing honestly. I don’t have any words!" Jacarra Wilkinson excitedly told Action News Jax Courtney Cole.
On the afternoon of Memorial Day 2020, De’Shazon and Jacarra officially became husband and wife at the Treasury on the Plaza.
"I knew from the beginning, that regardless of what’s going to happen: rain sleet or snow or coronavirus, I was going to marry my wife today!" De'Shazo enthusiastically told Action News Jax Courtney Cole.
But Jacarra didn't know she was getting married today, until an hour before the ceremony.
She thought she was coming for a hair and make-up session to help make up for a canceled wedding day.
"The fact that he could do all this with my family and no one really spoiled it, I think that’s amazing!" Jacarra said.
The duo met at UCF, during tryouts for a hip-hop dance team and dated for 10 years prior to taking their special vows.
"I helped her every step of the way planning, so I kind of knew exactly what she wanted to do. I wasn’t gonna let anything stop us from becoming husband and wife," De'Shazo said.
The couple already had to postpone their wedding plans, twice.
Once, because their wedding venue was forced to shut down and then again because of COVID-19.
But it turns out, the third time really IS the charm.
When we asked the groom how he managed to pull it all off, without her finding out he said:
"I am, I didn’t want to start a marriage like this but a lot of lies! (Laughs) I mean I had to fluff some things, but it’s OK, it was all in good spirit. It’s all about where your heart is," De'Shazo said with a big smile on his face.
The couple says they originally planned to take their honeymoon to Italy, but the groom tearfully told me, this is still everything they could have hoped for.