Now, this is a sick stand-in.
Groom-to-be Gannon Karmire got hit with “severe” food poisoning on the day of his wedding to then-fiancé Christine. So their North Carolina reception hall came up with a creative way to save the celebration — and a video showing what transpired has so far garnered more than 888,000 views on TikTok.
“When the groom suddenly becomes sick & goes to the hospital on wedding day,” reads the text superimposed over a montage of the Karmires’ wedding footage. The event took place earlier this month, and the video was subsequently posted by the venue, the Victorian: Youngsville.
The viral video features Christine, 26, slow dancing and cutting cake with a long, slender pole attached to a rolling device that the venue’s staffers had dressed in a man’s suit. Mounted atop the structure was an iPad, its screen emblazoned with Gannon’s smiling face.
“Awww this is sweet,” commented a fan of the makeshift man and real-life wife. “They made the best of it. When you get food poisoning you don’t want no one around It’s the worst.”
And while others conceded that the Victorian’s make-do groom was a clever response to an unfortunate situation, most critics shamed Christine for failing to stick by her about-to-be hubby’s side through his sickness.
“This is funny, but I’d probably be at the hospital with him,” scoffed one social media scolder. “‘In sickness and in health’ at its finest,” another said sarcastically.
But Gannon, now fully recovered, commented, saying that he wanted Christine to celebrate their love with friends and family.
He also thanked the Victorian for helping them pull off their wedding day in spite of his stomach troubles.
“GROOM HERE!,” wrote Gannon. “HUGE Thank you to the Victorian. This was our third attempt at a ‘Covid’ wedding,” the newlywed added, suggesting he and Christine had previously encountered several pandemic-related wedding roadblocks.
Concluding his note of gratitude, he added, “We’ve happily been together for almost 8 years, with many more to come.”