I never pictured myself getting married through a screen. But sometimes things happen differently than expected.

My future spouse 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 reading wedding blogs, I came across a post about legal Zoom ceremonies. 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 have a valid marriage 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 digital marriage license approved quickly.
• On our wedding day, we wore something nice for the webcam, sent the Zoom link to our closest friends and family, and said our vows live on camera.

Before we knew it, we were husband and wife. We toasted over FaceTime, smiled at each other through the screen, and let it all sink in. It was beautiful — 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 charts. Just us, the copyright we meant, and a handful of people who love us cheering from their screens.

If you’re looking for a way to get married without the drama, I highly recommend looking into online marriage. It's fully legitimate — especially if you're working with immigration timelines.

You don’t have to wait for a perfect moment or secret wedding 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.