Hails Sherwood and their fiance, Carey, wanted to wed during a supermoon.
When they started to research dates in January, they learned that Indianapolis was in the path of totality for a solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Just like that, they’d found their wedding date.
“I really liked the meaning of the eclipse and I follow the moon very closely, regularly. So it just has a lot of meaning and purpose for me to have it on this day,” Hails said.
“Overwhelmingly, it’s about new beginnings and it’s supposed to be a very powerful time of transitions. So we’re transitioning into married life and being spouses.”
The couple got engaged in October, a year after they’d met through a dating app.
Hails, a drag performer, brought Carey up on stage during intermission of their show at the Back Door in Bloomington. Carey thought he was coming to the stage for a toast to the home they’d just bought together.
Hails dropped to one knee and popped the question, presenting Carey with a black titanium ring.
Monday afternoon, the couple married in an outdoor ceremony at Folktale Event Center in front of around 35 loved ones in Greenwood.
Guests had lunch, socialized and monitored eclipse progress from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. The ceremony began just before 3 p.m., with an introduction from their officiant and Hails’ best friend, Carie McMichael.
“Today we are here to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event, in which two celestial bodies are brought together right before our very eyes,” McMichael said, as the sunlight continued to dim. “I am, of course, speaking of Hails and Carey’s decision to join their lives together.”
“Even the mighty and humbling cosmic event materializing over our heads cannot eclipse the grand display of love before us today.”
Then, 3:06 p.m. Totality.
Just as the couple was finishing their vows, the remaining sunlight sunk to the horizon and it became cool and dark. Cheers rang out from nearby Old City Park, where a crowd was spectating.
McMichael and Ema, Hails’ sister, led the couple through a hand-fasting ritual. The couple alternated tying knots and sharing lighthearted expressions of intent to care for each other.
Sunlight began to peek from behind the moon. There was more cheering from the park and this time, fireworks went off.
They closed the ceremony with a kiss.
“Ladies, theydies and gentlemen, I present to you for the very first time, the Sherwoods!” McMichael said.
Jenna Watson is the art director for Mirror Indy. Contact her at jenna.watson@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on Instagram at @jennajulyaugust.
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