ABOVE: Tyler Grisham (L) and Ed Halleran. Photo by Sandy Swift.
When Ed Halleran and Tyler Grisham first met more than four years ago, they were grieving in different ways.
Halleran was two years out from ending a 35-year relationship, while Grisham had recently lost his husband to cancer. Though they had been married for only two years, they were together for 22, he says, and he was training for a half marathon after his husband passed away.
“I was a caretaker. I had a husband that had cancer and was in hospice. That half marathon was sort of my escape,” he explains. “That was the one thing I have myself. The training.”
During this training, he found the need to meet with a medical and sports massage therapist and started seeing Halleran, who runs a practice in Safety Harbor.
During the several months Grisham was his client, they got to know one another. He invited Halleran out with him and some friends on New Year’s Eve and by January they went on their first official date.
“After a couple of months, he stopped being a client and started being a partner or boyfriend. We found out we have so much in common, a crazy amount as far as family and faith,” Halleran says.
“Everything from musical taste to movies,” Grisham adds.
“He was a hardcore Southern Baptist and I’m a Catholic,” Halleran also muses, “but we figured it out.”
The relationship moved slowly at first because of their past relationships.
“We both had been in long-term relationships, and we took it slow because of that,” Grisham says. “We didn’t want to make any bad decisions.”
They even waited more than a year to move in together.
“Because we had both been in long relationships before this, that’s why we decided to elope to Hawaii,” Halleran said.
Grisham told him, “It’s your first wedding. Whatever you want to do.”
Having proposed to his first husband, he also told Halleran that ball was in his court.
“I’ve done it once and I was the one who proposed. So I told him, ‘I’m not doing it again,’” Grisham says, and though they had talked about it before, Halleran was “caught off guard” on Valentine’s Day earlier this year.
They were spending an evening at home, enjoying a steak and lobster dinner and an expensive bottle of wine, when Halleran gifted him with a comic book about all the things he loved about their relationship and Grisham.
Everything was in the book as the flipped through it together – hiking, movies, dinners, their pets.
Grisham was touched – and on the same page – but chalked the gift up to thinking, “This guy is overboard. He really loves this Valentine’s Day.”
On the very last page of the book was written, “Will you marry me?”
Grisham said yes and they didn’t want to wait. They had a trip already planned to Hawaii in July and decided to elope.
They hired a wedding planner who helped them set up their wedding at Hanalei Bay. Other than the two of them, only Halleran’s close friend flew in from Denver to join them.
“It was beautiful. You had the beach and the mountains in the background,” he says.
They enjoyed a traditional Hawaiian wedding with a ukulele player, hula dancer and various ceremonies.
“What made it so special was on the way over to the beach, it started to rain, like really rain,” Grisham remembers. “Obviously, it’s Kauai and that’s to be expected. So, we sat in the car and waited it out until it stopped. The beach was empty – this huge beach – and we literally had the whole bay to ourselves. It was unforgettable.”
Engagement Date: Feb. 14, 2021
Wedding Date: July 6, 2021
Wedding Planner: Kauai Elopements
Wedding Venue: Hanalei Bay in Kauai, Hawaii
First Dance Song: “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran
Officiant: Tommy Tokioka
Photographer: Sandy Swift
Honeymoon: Grand Wailea Resort in Maui, Hawaii
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