*Johnny and Madison with their celebratory “we did it” pose amidst a beautiful pink backdrop.*

On April 1, 2020, most of us were at home worrying about how much toilet paper we had left. While the world was still being bombarded with sickness from the COVID-19 pandemic, and people were panicking, a couple celebrated their love for each other in the very place they met.

Madison and Johnny Nonmacher tied the knot at Texas A&M University-Texarkana. The couple had to cancel their wedding plans and settle for a more simple celebration due to the Coronavirus.

The couple started dating during 2016 after meeting on Madison’s freshman move-in day. Johnny graduated from TAMUT in three years in the Spring of 2018, and Madison recently graduated in December of 2019. They were both living with roommates when talk about the Coronavirus started bubbling up.

When the CDC announced that COVID-19 was definitely making its way to the United States, like most of us, the couple took to the store to buy essentials that they thought they would need. “Our world literally blew up in less than 24 hours. All of our plans came crashing down, and we decided not to let our marriage go up in flames with it. We really took it by the horns and chose our own path,” said Madison.

*Jeff Hart and his wife, Kristi, were the only guests at the wedding, besides the wedding photographer, Brianna O’Shaughnessy.*

It was exactly a month before their planned wedding date, which was April 18, when they found out they would have to postpone their wedding. Madison said, “It was a whirlwind of realizing that things weren’t moving like we planned.” Originally they wanted to fly to Vegas but everything, everywhere was closed. “So that plan got canceled,” Madison mentioned. During the last week of March, after grieving over the realization of having to make new plans, they made the decision to elope.

Johnny and Madison didn’t tell many people about rescheduling their wedding. The couple knew they couldn’t physically get their families in one place under these circumstances. They said, “We made the decision to prep our families ahead of time and tell them that we were just going to elope.” Then they contacted TAMUT about the ceremony. “They wanted to make sure if you’re gonna be here you’ll be six feet apart,” said Johnny. “Yeah, social distancing,” added Madison. The only people who attended the wedding were Johnny and Madison (of course), Jeff Hart (who officiated their wedding), his wife, and one of their photographer friends.

Johnny is currently working from home like many of us while Madison is hunting for a job of her own. When asked about their honeymoon plans they said, “We wanted to go to Mexico to an all inclusive resort. Or the Bahamas. After all this we might be able to afford it since we’re staying in so much.”

Their original venue was very generous and let them reschedule. The Nonmachers plan to have a one-year anniversary celebration with their friends and family on April 18, 2021. A day formerly known as April Fools Day, has become a very special day to this newlywed couple.

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Choosing Their Own Path