LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- Coronavirus couldn’t stop Sarah and Sean McManamon from celebrating their big day. The Lakewood residents had their wedding on Saturday, April 18, on the front porch steps to their home.

About a hundred friends and family members showed up for the festivities, following social-distancing guidelines on the street in front of the McManamons’ home, with six feet in between groups. Some guests wore masks to protect themselves against coronavirus risks.

It wasn’t the wedding that Sarah had originally planned, which had been set to take place in a barn in Carollton, Ohio with a guest list of 250. The plans of a big, barn wedding had been swept away after the coronavirus crisis placed restrictions on large gatherings of people.

But the Lakewood front porch event ended up being better than anything Sarah had planned, she said.

“So many people pitched in and went above and beyond, because they realized it wasn’t our ideal wedding, but honestly it made it so much better than what our planned one would have been,” Sarah said. “All the things people did for us, made me realize how many people truly love Sean and me… Everything about it was amazing.”

The McManamons had anticipated only close friends and family to show up for their wedding, but bridal parties secretly invited more attendees, Sarah said -- and even contacted Lakewood neighbors to have access to their yards and driveways to accommodate more people in a safe, spread-out way.

Many of those neighbors decorated their homes and lawns, and watched the wedding from their porches and driveways. The McManamons were married by Sean’s brother, who was ordained for the ceremony, Sarah said. Then, cupcakes and champagne toasts were served to the scattered guests, before the couple had its first dance in the street.

Sarah said her mother created bouquets and decorations for the McManamons’ front porch, cutting flowers from friends’ gardens. Local country singer Jake Binegar sang the McManamons’ song for them on Facebook Live on Friday, the night before the wedding. The event was also live streamed for family and friends who weren’t able to make it to Lakewood.

On the big day, a parade of decorated cars -- some coming from as far away as Columbus and Athens -- drove down the street to celebrate the couple, Sarah said; there was even a firetruck appearance from Sean’s firefighter coworkers.

This colorful marriage story stands in stark contrast to a dark time for the wedding industry. Coronavirus has caused many cancellations and postponements -- leaving many couples and wedding industry workers affected.

The McManamons didn’t want to postpone their wedding, hoping to start a family as soon as possible. Because Sean’s work as a firefighter creates challenging hours, and because of uncertainty regarding coronavirus in the coming months, the couple decided to ultimately keep their original wedding date. They were able to get a marriage license in Marietta, Sarah said, just one day before the probate court closed to the public.

The McManamons were able to get refunds back on every aspect of their wedding, including the venue, catering and even some of the photography deposit.

Photographer Anita Schulz, who runs her business Anita Louise Photography, was present to capture photographs of the unique event. She posted them to her professional Facebook page, and the photos have now been shared more than 700 times and have garnered more than a hundred comments, mostly positive.

“I’m pretty hands-on with all my couples. I told Sarah, I know COVID-19 is making things crazy, but we’ll be there to photograph whatever type of wedding you guys will do,” Schulz said. “As it was happening, I thought, I’ll never forget this wedding. It was so special, so cool. It was overall joyful the whole day.”

Despite the success of the day, Sarah said she experienced plenty of stress leading up to the wedding, including dealing with bouts of snow in the week leading up to ceremony.

There was also one blip in the day itself -- a Lakewood police officer being called on the party.

“They got called, which I anticipated would happen,” Sarah said. “He looked around and noticed that people were, in fact, spread out and being respectful… He was so nice, when he easily could have ruined our entire day and made it stop right then.”

The McManamons hope to potentially host a small party at a local brewery once family and friends are able to gather safely in groups again. They also plan to take their honeymoon at an all-inclusive resort next summer.

Many guests at the McManamons’ front-porch wedding said that the event provided some fun and relief in a time that they’ve been stuck at home.

“So many people told us it was the first time they left their house since quarantine, and they were so excited everyone was being respectful -- it was such a good thing to happen in such a crummy time,” Sarah said. “People randomly driving by said, ‘We don’t know you but we love seeing this.’ So many people were so happy that we went through with it… I truthfully think it was better.”