From Love Exile to legal wedded bliss: get your hankies out for this wedding

Tamara and Leriche had a fated meeting in a nightclub in Washington, D.C where they both professed how beautiful the other was on first sight — they each argue that they said it first! They both left with a number on a napkin, the rest was history. (Herstory?)

However, without being able to get married in a country without legal spousal rights, it wasn’t an easy road for these two. For five years, Tamara proposed to Leriche via email every single day. Eventually, Tamara became a Love Exile in South Africa, which allowed Leriche to join her as a legal immigrant. It was in the kitchen of their flat where they got legally married, just between the two of them and their two witnesses.

Their dream of having a ceremony at home finally came true when Virginia passed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage. Their U.S. getting-wedded ceremony was just about four years after they had their legal ceremony.

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Photography: Turner Photography Studio