Neither Maria Cecilia Osorio nor Alfonso Ardila would have ever imagined that they'd find each in the middle of a pandemic and fall in love.
The two fell in love and got married within a month of the lockdown, with people at the shelter as guests.?The wedding was traditional - a white dress for the bride, a suit for the groom, a large entourage of around 240 people...?and face masks.
According to a Reuters report,?Osorio, 39, does missionary work and found herself without money to pay rent when the quarantine began in March. She accepted a spot at a shelter in Manizales, in Colombia¡¯s coffee region.
Ardila, 72, works in construction and, like many informal labourers in the Andean country, saw his work dry up. Unable to pay rent and suffering the after-effects of a head injury he got at work, he too sought refuge at the shelter.
¡°I came to this place where nobody looked at me or greeted me but here I found someone who loved me and worried about me,¡± he told Reuters, adding that hourly seizures caused by his injury had stopped since he met Osorio.
¡°I have my medication and now I¡¯m reducing my intake. They are blessings, very beautiful blessings.¡±
Though last week¡¯s outdoor wedding - with chairs and an altar set up by other shelter residents - occurred in unusual circumstances, it featured the usual jitters.
¡°They told me the ceremony would start at 4 p.m. and I should be there at 3 p.m. to get ready and all that, at noon I still couldn¡¯t believe it because it was my husband who arranged everything,¡± Osorio said.
¡°I was a little scared - even though I was dressing and everything I still didn¡¯t believe it.¡±The pair now share space in a tent at the shelter and are looking ahead to the end of quarantine, scheduled for May 11.
Soon after the lockdown ends, they hope to organise another traditional wedding in front of their loved ones.