Charlotte to Mexico for wedding, check. Honeymoon, check. Then throw in a pandemic.
.jpeg "Jordan and Jeffrey Teeter said “I do” in the heart of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.")
Jordan and Jeffrey Teeters started 2020 on the happiest of notes — celebrating their destination wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. On Feb. 22, Jordan and Jeffrey tied the knot surrounded by family, friends and vibrant decor. It was the moment they’d both been waiting for, and it occurred just in the nick of time.
They had no idea the entire world was about to change.
The couple spent almost three weeks in Mexico, from Feb. 15 to March 3, catching rays, reading books and eating local cuisine. While lounging in pool chairs with drinks in hands, it was easy to be blissfully unaware of the situation ramping up in the United States.
“Our wedding was one of the happiest days of my life,” Jordan said. “Forty-five of our closest friends and family flew to Mexico to celebrate with us. The weather was perfect, new friendships were made, old friendships were amended, lots of laughs were had, a ton of tequila was consumed, and most importantly — I got to say ‘I do’ to my best friend.”
Jeffrey agreed, saying the wedding was the one day in his life so far that had the most impact on him as a person.
“I was in my room with The Little Mermaid Broadway soundtrack blaring, yelling ‘Part of Your World’ in the mirror and I looked up at my hanging suit. All of a sudden, it was real and I knew I would be marrying my best friend,” Jeffrey said. “I do not know how or why I was so lucky, so blessed to deserve Jordan or the wedding that was about to happen. I prayed for a long while and spoke to my mom. I sure did miss her, that day especially, but she was there every second. And when I held Jordan’s hand in front of our friends and family, I knew it was the right thing.”
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While they were aware of the coronavirus before they left, it didn’t become a larger issue until closer to their return date home.
“We were unaware of the severity until actually checking in for our return flights. We were asked where we had traveled and if we had been in contact with others that traveled to ‘no travel’ zones,” Jeffrey said. “COVID-19 was not a part of what we were thinking about prior to the wedding. At that point, it was an outbreak in China and we had been given no information prior to leaving that it was something for us to worry about.”
“While out of town, we became more aware of the situation in the States via CNN and through friends posting on Facebook about their adventures to the grocery stores, seeing all of the toilet paper and antibacterial cleaning products wiped from the shelves,” Jordan said.
When boarding the plane on March 3, they knew they’d be landing in a state of chaos.
From celebrations in Mexico to crisis in Charlotte — and beyond
When the newlyweds returned to Charlotte, they were greeted by the beginnings of the COVID-19 crisis. The news had just started to ramp up reporting, and “social distancing” was beginning to become a household term. Jeffrey recalled that people seemed “tense” and were wearing masks and gloves.
On March 5, both Jordan and Jeffrey returned to their jobs in hospitality sales with heavy hearts, knowing that their shared industry was beginning to feel the effects of the virus.
“Slowly, everything about the city became less — less people driving to work, less people walking around the EpiCentre, less employees in our buildings,” he said. “It was surreal — the amount of goodbyes as people were slowly let go, driving to work each morning with ‘Is today going to be the day they let me go?’ gripping the back of my brain. It was absolutely high pressure, and the afterglow of just becoming newlyweds had to take a backseat to getting our lives in order in case we were a part of the worst case scenario.”
Overnight, both of their jobs had become impractical. Everyone was being advised to stay home to stop the community spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. No one was booking hotel stays.
First, Jordan was laid off. Then two days later, Jeffrey lost his job.
“How were we going to pay rent and all of our other countless bills?,” Jordan said. “I feared that we would blow through all of the wedding money that we had saved up, ultimately meant to be used as a down payment for our first house.”
Jeffrey had never been terminated before, and he had no idea how to get assistance from the government. He was not alone: more than 24,300 people were unemployed in Mecklenburg County in March, an increase by 11.8% from February.
Navigating the system can be complicated enough even without the added strain of attempting it during a pandemic. “I was never able to get in touch with an actual person at DES,” Jordan said. “I just kept hoping for the best.”
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Luckily, assistance came through. Both Jordan and Jeffrey applied for the NC Restaurant Workers Relief Fund and received that as well.
“We were both anxious and fearful, and maybe a bit of that lingers. The feeling of, ‘I should be working’ still creeps in here and there, but I believe a lot of that is social conditioning and it is completely OK to figure out this scene in our lives without putting too much pressure on a situation that we currently just cannot control,” Jeffrey said.
Finding a silver lining
And now, they wait.
Instead of treating the crisis as something to be feared, the newlyweds told us they have found a silver lining. They are spending this unexpected down time enjoying each others’ company and immersing themselves in the things they love. They are taking this crisis day-by-day and riding it out to see what happens on the other side, while they wait for the world — and their jobs — to return to a state of normalcy.
“Momma didn’t raise no fool,” Jeffrey said. “We got it together and just focused on making the next step until things were in place. The house could not be more clean, a wonderful thing for my nagging OCD, and we both have been able to focus on things that we did not have time to before.”
Their home is now a haven for sweet treats, crafts and magic. Jordan is creating wall art, preparing flower arrangements, repurposing old furniture and hand-painting garden pots. Scents of sweet buttercream, chocolate and pie waft throughout the space, complements of his love for baking.
While the treats are in the oven, Jeffrey’s been penning his first novel.
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It’s easy to get wrapped up in an endless stream of Netflix and snacking (which is quite alright in moderation), but the Teeters think the key to finding happiness during a crazy time is to do something you love.
“Do not make it too hard,” Jeffrey said. “The idea, at least for me, is to do something that makes me happy. If writing your business plan for the next phase of your life makes you happy, then do that. If landscaping your yard makes you happy, then do that.
