7xm Surprise, ‘We’re Getting Married Right Now!’
When friends and family joined Daniel Alan Howarth and Jonathan Frank Marotto at a restaurant in Miami Beach on Nov. 207xm, they thought they were there to celebrate the couple’s recent wedding at the Miami Beach courthouse earlier that day. But they hadn’t actually gotten married.
“My best friend Jonny gave a speech, and Dan’s father gave a speech,” Mr. Marotto said. “And then we said, ‘We’re getting married right now!’”
[Click here to binge read this week’s featured couples.]
The surprise wedding was fitting since falling in love had caught them both off guard. “Before we met, we were both very over the dating scene and had no real desire to strike up a relationship,” Mr. Howarth said.
The two first connected on Instagram in February 2019. “I saw Jonathan repeatedly in some friends’ stories and posts, and I thought, ‘He looks cute and fun,’" Mr. Howarth said. “I followed him, and he followed me back straightaway.”
But it wasn’t until December 2020 that they met in person. Mr. Howarth, who moved to New York from England in 2016, wanted to return to his home country for the holidays, but Covid-19 travel restrictions prevented him from doing so. Instead, he visited friends in Miami.
While there, he decided to message Mr. Marotto, who lived in Miami, and asked if he might want to meet up. “It was not intended to be romantic,” Mr. Howarth said, although he admits he did think Mr. Marotto was cute.
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