They were separated by the corona pandemic or could not celebrate the wedding they had dreamed of: around 500 couples of all denominations were symbolically married in a New York park on Sunday in order to overcome the sad moments of the pandemic together.
Many could hardly hold back their tears.
"We were going to get engaged on March 24, 2020 in Hawaii, but of course the pandemic ruined everything," Erica Hackman told AFP while in her wedding dress enjoying the festive atmosphere in Manhattan's Damrosch Park with her husband Richard with her husband Richard.
A few months after the broken engagement, they found out that they were expecting a child - and were married in the closest family circle with the typical corona restrictions.
Now they caught up on their dream wedding.
The ceremony was organized by Lincoln Center and was performed by an imam, a rabbi and a pastor.
The renowned cultural institute originally planned the big wedding for all couples who were separated by the pandemic or whose wedding was ruined.
But other couples were welcome too.
They included Wonderful Lloyd-Kline, 56, and her wife, Anisa, from Toronto, Canada.
Although they have been married since 2008, they also wanted to take part in the celebration: "There is so much hate these days.
Having a day that just celebrates love is important," Lloyd-Kline said.
Amidst the strolling couples, Anne-Marie Colon stood alone with only a photo of her fiancé Louis Steven, the "love of her life".
He died of Covid-19 in April 2020.
"We wanted to get married in Aruba," said the 59-year-old.
"And so I thought it would be a beautiful celebration of the life that he and I had together for 11 years."