Comedian Fortune Feimster marries Jacquelyn Smith in a COVID-friendly wedding

Like many couples, comedian Fortune Feimster and her fiancée Jacquelyn Smith were forced to cancel the large wedding celebration they had planned for 2020. But in a surprising move, the couple decided to continue with their plans to wed this year and revised their nuptials to be a much smaller, COVID-friendly affair.“We got married,” wrote Feimster next to a picture the actor shared on Instagram of the newlyweds smiling. “Jax and I decided to forgo the big wedding we planned to have due to the pandemic and decided fairly last minute to do a tiny ceremony on the beach. We’ll celebrate with friends and family in a year when it’s safer to do so.”

 

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We got married! Jax and I decided to forgo the big wedding we planned to have due to the pandemic and decided fairly last minute to do a tiny ceremony on the beach. We’ll celebrate with friends and family in a year when it’s safer to do so. ? @laurenhurtphoto

A post shared by Fortune Feimster (@fortunefeimster) on Oct 25, 2020 at 12:03pm PDT

Smith, a former elementary school teacher, wore a beautiful soft and flowing floor-length silk gown, while Feimster looked sharp in a navy blue linen suit. The pair received messages of congratulations on Feimster’s social media from her fans and coworkers, including her The Mindy Project co-stars Mindy Kaling, Ed Weeks and Bryan Greenberg. Feimster’s former Chelsea Lately co-star Sarah Colonna, as well as Liv Tyler, Aya Cash, Kate Walsh, Jillian Bell, Zelda Williams, Queer Eye stars Tan France and Bobby Berk and fellow comedians Brent Morin and Anjelah Johnson all celebrated the couple with emoji-filled messages of love.In an interview with etalk's Chloe Wilde on Monday, Fortune explained they had a "really tiny ceremony over the weekend," and said, "2020 has taken a turn for the better, for me." Celebrating the wedding and the upcoming release of her new movie Chick Fight in November, Feimster added, "This week, at least, has brought joy in my life, so I'm really grateful to have something in 2020, besides Chick Fight that I'm super proud of."Feismter and Smith shared their wedding photos and details with People, telling the magazine that the ongoing pandemic influenced how and with whom they would celebrate their special day. "It was something small. We only had a couple of good friends there. We all had COVID tests. We purposefully kept it small for the reasons of it being during a pandemic," said Feimster, adding that the couple opted for renting a house on the beach as their venue in order to keep the majority of the celebration outside.Feimster said they were able to pare down their guest list by only inviting friends who had been physically distancing. "We just asked a couple of our close friends we knew had been taking the quarantine and pandemic seriously. We only gave them a week's notice. We said, 'Would you guys be willing to take COVID tests and keep hunkering down leading up to the day?' And they were like, 'Absolutely.' So yeah, so we felt good about that. We felt like everybody was being super responsible."The couple, who had been dating for five and a half years and got engaged in January 2018, shared their wedding with friends and family through Zoom. Although they are planning a larger celebration with their family in the future, including Feimster’s relatives in North Carolina and Smith’s family in Michigan, the pair admitted that the recent death of Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the ensuing discussions around gay marriage prompted them to set a new wedding date."I'm not going to lie, there were some nerves about the Supreme Court. After Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, all these people started talking about gay marriage again. On the first day of their session, two of the justices brought up gay marriage. I think I had posted something on Instagram, something like, 'Oh man, this is nerve-racking as a gay person.' Especially because we were planning to get married. All these people were like, 'Go get married now,'" said Feimster. "Who knows what will happen? Hopefully, marriage equality is here to stay. But we wanted to be more proactive and get married while we know we can.”

 

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This year is exhausting. The fact that our hard earned right to marry could now be at stake is devastating. I’ve been in a beautiful, loving, healthy relationship for over five years. We were supposed to get married this summer but the pandemic had other plans. We will scramble to figure this out before those rights may no longer be available. But us getting married in no way infringes on you or you or you. To have to continue fighting for this equal right is just wrong.

A post shared by Fortune Feimster (@fortunefeimster) on Oct 5, 2020 at 7:11pm PDT

Fans of Feimster and Smith have been following the couple on Instagram since they first met at a Chicago Pride event back in 2015. Feimster has documented the pair’s loving relationship on social media, including life with their dogs and their time spent on the road in support of Feimster’s stand up career.

 

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I accidentally led people to think Jax and I secretly got married ? Not yet! Covid ruined our plans. I was waiting til today to say I never thought I’d A) find someone that I wanted to marry and B) legally be allowed to. But five years ago today, the day after marriage equality passed, I went to pride in Chicago and immediately met Jax. She appeared out of nowhere and it felt like I’d known her forever. She’s so awesome and such a rock. Even in a freakin pandemic she’s the best partner I could ever hope for. I love her so much and I’m grateful our relationship continues to grow. Happy 5 year anniversary, Jax!

A post shared by Fortune Feimster (@fortunefeimster) on Jun 27, 2020 at 1:01pm PDT

Feimster and Smith are the latest celebrity couple to find a way to make it to the altar amid a pandemic. Lily Allen and David Harbour, Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts, Raven-Symoné and Miranda Pearman-Maday, Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and Sean Penn and Leila George all said ‘I do’ in 2020.Congratulations to the newlyweds! We hope their reception included an ice cream buffet and choreographed dancing.

 

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You know what to do. Eat ice cream and DANCE! #nationalicecreamday

A post shared by Fortune Feimster (@fortunefeimster) on Jul 19, 2020 at 1:08pm PDT

[video_embed id='2051992']Before you go: Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary[/video_embed]