A bride and groom have newfound Internet fame after they were caught on video stepping out for their "first look" moment and showing their support for the Black Lives Matter movement during a massive demonstration in Philadelphia.
Dr. Kerry-Anne Perkins married Michael Gordon in the garden of the Logan Hotel in Center City on Saturday. Before officially tying the knot, the couple stepped out for their first look at each other as thousands of protesters marched in honor of George Floyd.
"I walk up to her, I grab her hands and her hands are shaking," Gordon said. "She’s trembling."
Demonstrators applauded and cheered the couple as they kissed.
"She had some tears running down her face, even though all this was going on around us, I was only focused on her," Gordon said. "I just kind of looked around like there’s a lot of people here."
In a moment that later took the Internet by storm, the couple raised their fists in solidarity with the cheering protesters.
After posing for more wedding photos and officially tying the knot, the couple joined the protesters as they walked toward City Hall.
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The video of the couple caught the attention of everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Vogue Magazine.
The couple said their wedding was originally planned for mid-March but had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Perkins is a gynecologic surgeon still serving on the front lines of the pandemic. She told NBC10 that while the ceremony was smaller than they initially wanted, it wasn’t any less memorable.
"It was so deep that it makes me think that I could even tear up again and cry all over again," she said. "Because I feel it. I see him walking through. I feel the love and emotion that I felt at the time when I saw him overwhelmed. I feel it all over again."
For the couple, the moment not only represented their love but also a unifying change happening across the world.
"This right here just says a lot and to me it was a representation of the movement," Dr. Perkins said. "Same thing when we held up our fist. It was a representation of the movement. We need to love and we need to show positivity all the time."
