Photo credit: Martina Lanotte
Fighting for Love, Each Other and Their Wedding Ceremony.
HR and RH are a couple whose story will make you laugh, cry, and cheer for joy…
As a gay couple who, up until very recently, have not been able to be open about their relationship, theirs is a ‘Couple’s Story’ that is worth reading.
Their love for each other runs deep and what they went through simply to get to the town hall for their wedding will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions (spoiler alert – it ends happily)!
Their journey to Denmark and the town hall was testament to their commitment towards each other, and the happy and beautiful wedding they had was a precursor to what is waiting for them in their future.
The Beginning
HR and RH met in Dubai and knew instantly that they were meant to be together – things just felt right from that very first moment. Some might even say it was love at first sight! ❤️
However, RH comes from “a very conservative background where homosexuality is not tolerated at all”, says HR, so he knew right from the start and as soon as they started to pursue their relationship, that he needed to do “everything possible to protect RH.”
They continued to visit one another in Dubai, but this was not enough, so they decided to travel together – this way, they could get to know each other safely and without fear of persecution.
They laid the foundation of their relationship and commitment to each other and on a trip to Thailand, they decided to get married.
Now they just needed to do the seemingly impossible and work out how to get married, so they could start their lives together as husbands. 🥰
So, How to Get Married - and Where?!
RH left Pakistan after he enrolled at a UK university to continue his studies. Both HR and RH knew that RH being in the UK was the key to being able to see each other regularly, and to continue to deepen their relationship, as well as start to plan their wedding!
HR travelled from the US to the UK every month to visit his love, RH. It was during one of these visits that HR raised the idea of Denmark as a place to get married.
HR had actually always had Denmark in his heart as a place he would love to get married. He says;
“I was 19 years old in 1989. It was 1 October when I read in the newspaper that Denmark became the first country to legalise civil partnerships for same-sex couples.
Since that day I had always dreamt of getting married in Denmark.”
So…. Denmark it was! 🇩🇰🏳️🌈
Photo credit: Hanna Bursuk
Getting to the Town Hall
Getting to Denmark and the town hall was truly an adventure for HR and RH.
Their flight to Copenhagen was booked via a transfer at Brussels but their departing flight was delayed by 1 hour, which resulted in them missing their connecting flight.
That connecting flight from Brussels was the last flight to Copenhagen of the day. And their wedding was at 11.20 the next morning!!! 😱
To put it mildly, this was turning into a potential disaster.
But HR, who has travelled extensively throughout his life, said:
“I told RH we are not giving up just yet. I started looking for options and my travel experience started kicking in… I knew to check what routes and which mode of transportation would get us to our dream wedding day.”
They were working intensively together on a solution driven plan with an amazing Brussels Airline agent called Christina, who went above and beyond to help them!
Christina finally found a Flix Bus departing Brussels at 1:30 am, arriving at a destination very close to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport at 5:30am, with a 15 min taxi ride to the airport where there was a flight at 7am.
There was so little time, but this was their only option and they absolutely HAD to try!
So off they went, boarding a bus to Amsterdam from Brussels with only the clothes on their backs (they had checked their bags in London)!
Everything went smoothly and they arrived for their flight from Amsterdam with 20 minutes to spare, before the gates closed!
RH says;
“We could not believe this was happening, we were both in shock and didn’t know the true feeling of the situation. Reality eventually struck us when we were at the main Copenhagen train station, where we bought our tickets for the train to Stevns via Køge, and the shock was it was exactly the same train which our GMiD angel Penny had planned for us to take.
Truly unbelievable – this is what I call destiny.”
Photo credit: Martina Lanotte
Finally Married!
Amazingly, HR and RH arrived at Stevns Town Hall ahead of schedule and were able to get married, on time and as planned.
Everyone at Stevns town hall treated the utterly exhausted but happy couple with such kindness and warmth, and their ceremony was very intimate and beautiful.
They both had tears in their eyes as the registrar read them a beautiful poem before confirming they were finally married! A moment which will remain in their hearts forever.
To say that HR and RH are happy is an understatement.
Their love for one another kept them pushing forwards in what was a rather stressful situation.
All that planning, hoping and dreaming to be thwarted at the last minute by a delayed flight! This was not what they planned and yet they took strength from one another, and with a little help from the lovely Christina at Brussels Airline, they found a way.
Love found a way.
Since their wedding, RH has begun the process of obtaining a visa so he can move to the United States, where their future together lies. A place where they can live their dream together.
A final thought from HR & RH;
“Well this is our story and it has been our pleasure to share it with you and the GMiD team, without all of you we don’t know where we would be today. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. Well wishes for GMiD and hope our story inspires other couples to choose GMiD. Thank you for looking out for us. This is why GMiD has a very special place in our hearts. The entire team is caring and loving which makes GMiD the BEST!!! ❤️”
*HR and RH wanted us to share their amazing story and so have given us permission to use their initials in this article, but they preferred to keep their full names and pictures private. This is to protect their identities and to keep RH safe.