Couple marry in coronavirus pandemic: "I Choose Love"

In a time of global pandemic, choosing between a lavish celebration and protecting the lives of the ones we love is a no-brainer.

With freshly engaged couples cancelling and postponing wedding across the country, one US couple found a responsible compromise, amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Katie Russell and Brand Alexander Newland had spent a year planning what would be an exotic destination wedding, located on Mexico's tropical Baja Peninsula, but instead decided to downsize.

Married just a few streets away from where they resided in Austin, Texas, Russell explained to TODAY Style, "In the end, it was just him and I, which is the most important thing,".

"Of course, I'm disappointed. I think a sudden loss of something you've been envisioning for a long time is always challenging," she added, "but we felt it was the socially responsible thing to do."

Calling their friends and family to explain the change of plans, Russell revealed in a poignant Instagram post the reason behind the couple's decision not to postpone. 

"I waited 43 years to get married ... I didn't want to wait a second more," the bride said. 

Russell outlined the slew of tragedies that her and her family had endured, saying they "lost everything" when Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast in 2005. 

A few years later her mother died of cancer and shortly after, Ms Russell was diagnosed with blood cancer herself, though is now in remission.

"One of the biggest lessons I've learned from these unfortunate events is that when things are out of my control, I still have a choice in how I respond," she wrote. 

"I choose Love."

Russell's optimistic message extended to vulnerable members of society during the coronavirus outbreak, including "our elderly in nursing homes who were told they don't get to have any visitors" and "children who just lost the school meals that they count on as their only guaranteed meals each day."

Since her post, Russell said she has been inundated with messages from other brides on Instagram.

"Some women have been saying, 'My family didn't understand why I wasn't more devastated, and you gave me the words to explain it,'" she said. 

"It's nice to feel you're not alone when everything we're having to do in self-quarantine makes you feel that way."