Photos: A woman asked her grandmothers to be her bridesmaids

Megan Kennedy and Thomas Cahoon have been together since 2017.

Kennedy and Cahoon met on Match.com in 2017.

They had both opened their profiles recently when they matched; Kennedy had only created his account nine days before sending a message to Cahoon.

“He responded right away, then we met four days later,” Kennedy said. “We’ve literally been together ever since.”

“It was like the best online dating success story,” she added.

The couple were originally scheduled to tie the knot in March 2020, but they had to postpone due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Their wedding was originally supposed to have 200 guests, so it wasn’t going to work out.

They postponed the wedding to October 2020 and planned to have just 30 guests in order to adhere to safety in London at the time.

But two weeks before the wedding, they had to limit the guest list even further.

“They changed the guidelines, so only 15 people could go to our wedding,” Kennedy told Insider.

The UK has since been locked down to try to contain the virus, but at the time small groups were still allowed to congregate.

Cahoon and Kennedy only invited family members to the wedding, which meant most of Kennedy’s bridesmaids, including her maid of honor, couldn’t attend.

While she was thinking about how to change up her wedding party, Kennedy decided to find two very special replacement bridesmaids.

Kennedy decided to ask his grandmothers to be his bridesmaids.

Kennedy is close to his two grandmothers: Gillian Holloway, 80, and Mary Kennedy, 90.

Because they play such a big role in her life, and the event would be so small, she thought it made sense that they were her bridesmaids.

“I just said, ‘Look, I would love to have you here with me. You are my most important people, ”Kennedy said of the way she asked her grandmothers to be her bridesmaids.

“We just want you to feel like VIPs,” she also told them.

Grandmothers thought she was joking at first, but when they finally thought she was serious, they were all for it.

Kennedy made the safety of his grandmothers a priority throughout the marriage.

The ceremony took place in a church that can accommodate 200 people, but only 15 people were present on the wedding day.

Kennedy’s two grandmothers sat with people from their own homes and were socially distant from everyone, and everyone in the church had to use hand sanitizer when entering and exiting. All the guests also wore masks.

Kennedy and Cahoon isolated themselves as much as they could in the 10 days leading up to the wedding to decrease their chances of getting sick.

No one was exposed to the coronavirus during their marriage.

Both grandmothers use wheelchairs, but one of them was able to walk with a cane and support during the wedding.

They came to the ceremony just before Kennedy, and she told Insider that she was moved to watch them.

“It was really emotional, because I just couldn’t believe we were finally getting married after such a big year,” she said.

Also, Kennedy hadn’t been able to see her grandmothers much throughout the year, so having them at her wedding was very important.

Kennedy and his grandmothers wore bouquets made by Bloom East.

Kennedy said his grandmothers loved being a part of the wedding.

They were “so proud” to be bridesmaids, according to Kennedy.

“There has been only bad news this year, especially for them, and it’s been a really scary time,” she continued. “It was good for them to feel special.”

Her two grandmothers have been at home for the vast majority of the pandemic, so it was refreshing for them to go out and be at such an important event for their granddaughter.

The grandmothers were able to pose for a few photos before leaving the ceremony.

After the ceremony, Kennedy’s grandmothers were moved away from the rest of the group so that they could briefly celebrate at a safe distance.

When they posed for photos, they were outside, and it took photographer Kristian Leven less than a minute to take their photos.

They then left, making sure they were around others as little as possible throughout the day – while continuing to celebrate their granddaughter.

Kennedy told Insider that walking down the aisle was her favorite part of her wedding.

She said the moment was special because walking down the aisle it hit her that she was finally getting married, her grandmothers were there, and Cahoon looked “so happy” about the see.

Her friends also surprised her with a socially distant start from the streets, which made the day extra special.