Across the globe, citizens everywhere have flooded the streets to protest police brutality amid the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless other victims. One couple made the bold decision to use this historic time as the backdrop of their wedding, and their powerful wedding photos instantly went viral.
Kerry Anne Gordon, a Jamaica native and OBGYN, and her husband Michael Gordon, a wireless deployment manager originally planned to wed on May 26th of this year, but like many engaged couples, their wedding plans were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Vogue, the couple found out that The Logan Hotel in Philadelphia was offering garden ceremonies with 25 or less guests for couples whose ceremony had been affected by the pandemic. Knowing that they wanted to be married by this summer, wedding or not, they went for it.
Just three days before their ceremony, the Gordons were informed that a peaceful protest would be happening in front of the hotel on their wedding day. Rather than go into panic mode, the bride and groom embraced this as a moment to be apart of history. “We could hear the sounds in the air. We could hear the sounds of the helicopters above us,” Kerry Anne told Vogue. “You could almost feel the energy around you, and in addition to that, we’re about to get married.”
The viral moment was filmed during the couple’s first look, which happened outside of the hotel. As soon as she stepped outside, protesters surrounded the bride with cheers. Michael heard the commotion from around the corner and met her there. “I come running around the corner and I see Kerry standing with a circle of people around her just cheering, and she’s literally standing there looking like a Black princess,” the groom said. “That’s all I see. These peaceful protestors, positive energy, cheering, yelling, people with their phones out taking pictures and videos,” he says.
The couple’s wedding officiant, Reverend Roxanne Birchfield, told ESSENCE what it was like to be apart of such a special day. “Although touching many people in a single moment, I felt like this was my rainbow promise from God – like Noah at the end of the flood,” she said. “This symbolized hope for what is to come for Black people, this generation and beyond. When God comes to bless, it touches everyone.”
Though they initially planned to keep their nuptials a secret until their bigger wedding in 2021, the Gordons are proud to have shared this moment with such a pivotal moment in history. . “The narrative of love, of Black love, doesn’t always get put out there,” Michael said. :But that’s what [the movement] is about, that’s what we’re looking for. Black love is a beautiful thing. Black love exists. Black love is powerful.”
Congratulations to the beautiful couple.
