On the 11th anniversary of their relationship, Danny and Alex Vega-Zweydoff tied the knot with an at-home wedding.
Though they were originally planning a big ceremony, they were unable to do so due to COVID-19. But the couple made the best of it.
“A socially distanced wedding is really weird,” Alex says. “I wouldn’t change it, though. It was just nice to not have the stress of a big wedding. All that stress just went out the door and we were able to just be in the moment.”
Alex and Danny met at Revolution Nightclub (now Southern Nights Orlando), where Danny was working at the time. Alex had lost his phone and Danny helped him find it.
“He definitely schemed his way into getting my number, that’s for sure,” Alex says. “He was sneaky and called himself from my phone to get my number, then texted me like, ‘who’s this?’”
The couple got engaged in 2018 while Alex was in the hospital. Danny popped the question when Alex had just come out of the ICU. Though he was still feeling delirious from the 27-day hospital stay, he gladly accepted.
They had just started planning their wedding when the U.S. began to shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Though they considered postponing the wedding, they ultimately decided they really wanted to get married on their anniversary and didn’t want to wait another year to do so.
“We just wanted to get it done,” Alex says. “We were sick of being together, living together, but having ‘a boyfriend.’”
The couple held the ceremony in their backyard in front of about 10 of their closest friends and family members.
“We were able to have the closest people to us that have been through our 11 years and that was the biggest part for us, to have those close people there and just finally have that moment,” Alex says.
An aspect of the ceremony that was special for Alex was that it was officiated by his boss, Maria Napolitano.
“Having my boss, who’s been with us for a long time, having her officiate was huge for us. Having that special connection with the officiant was big,” he says.
Danny and Alex wrote their own vows, which they read to each other at the ceremony.
“Our vows were probably the biggest moment,” Alex says. “I turned into a big ol’ crybaby. [Danny] did his first, then when I went to mine I sounded like I was going through puberty. My voice changed three octaves.”
Danny and Alex do plan on throwing a bigger party when it’s safe to do so, hopefully on their one-year wedding anniversary.
Though smaller than they had originally planned, Alex says that having a quarantine wedding was a nicer and much more relaxed experience than he thought it would be.
“You have these big weddings and you’re being pushed and pulled and prodded in every which way,” Alex says. “We took away all of that, which was nice. It was definitely an experience and it’s definitely a great story for years to come.”
Engagement Date: Nov. 12, 2018
Wedding Date: July 07, 2020, their 11-year anniversary
Officiant: Maria Napolitano
Venue: Our Backyard in Downtown Orlando
Florist: Harry’s Famous Flowers
Cake Flavors: Rosemary and Raspberry
Bakery: Publix
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