Jill and Ralph Dupslaff walked their daughter down the aisle. Father Steven McMichael officiated the marriage. “It was surreal,” Annie said. “As soon as I saw Tony, I knew everything was going to be OK. I was like, ‘This is my forever person.’” Ralph said watching his daughter and now son-in-law making their vows was a moment he and his wife will never forget. “Annie and Tony, when they kissed, when Father [McMichael] consecrated the marriage and they cheered ‘woo’ – it came together at that moment,” Ralph said. “Jill and I were holding hands with tears in our eyes. That was the most special part – those two celebrating.” McMichael, who also teaches in the College of Arts and Sciences Theology Program, said the experience was unusual since most of the prayers of the wedding are focused on a group being present for the ceremony. But, he said, the only real difference with the Eicher-Dupslaff wedding was the lack of people. “I really felt compassion for them, as this was not what we were talking about three weeks ago when we got together to discuss the wedding liturgy,” he said. “But they seemed very happy to be married, and that is what the entire event was about.” While Annie and Tony are sad about missing out on all the excitement their original wedding plans held, they’ve rescheduled a party at a later date. Getting married when they did was the right decision for them at this time, Tony said. “It’s crazy because we’ve been affected to our own degree by this virus, but everybody has been affected in some way,” he said. “We’re just trying to make the most out of the situation.” After the ceremony, instead of going on a honeymoon to Hawaii, the newlyweds went back to their home in Chaska, picking up takeout on the way from Wildfire, the same Eden Prairie restaurant where Tony first asked Annie to be his girlfriend. n
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