A Surprising Instant Connection

When Rohini Pragasam and Chris Walton met for a first date in April 2018 at a Japanese restaurant in Manhattan, each had arrived in anticipation of impressing the other with knowledge of all-things Japan. But before Ms. Pragasam, 52, could mention the fact that she had studied Japanese in college and lived in and around…

Finding Their Second Wind

For Dr. Mariann Channell and Benson Woo, life is good. “We have thoroughly been enjoying each other’s company,” said Dr. Channell, as she strolled around Maui with her new husband, Mr. Woo, one recent night during their Hawaiian honeymoon. “We are fortunate to have found each other.” Dr. Channell, who lives in St. Clair Shores,…

How to Get Married Alone

Erica Ingraham had her eye on Adam Koster from the moment they started working together in 2015 in the town of Bon Accord, in Alberta, Canada. This was not an easy thing to do, given the setting. Ms. Ingraham, 30, and Mr. Koster, 33, were youth leaders at Oak Hill Ranch, a therapeutic program for…

Before They Wed, They Dated in Bahia, Dublin, Bangkok, Cape Town and Tulum

In September 2016, Renate Hartman attended the Association for Women’s Rights in Development International Forum conference in Bahia, Brazil. Also called “Feminist Futures,” it drew 2,000 people from around the world working for women’s and L.G.B.T.Q. rights. As Ms. Hartman,50, a manager of international projects at COC Nederland, a Dutch L.G.B.T.Q. advocacy group, entered a…

These Grooms Bonded Over Faith and Football

One Monday in 2014, Christopher Justin Hanson sat down for a job interview at the headquarters of Covington & Burling, a law firm in Washington. As the interviewer, who was stationed in front of windows overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue, thumbed through Mr. Hanson’s résumé, he noticed that Mr. Hanson didn’t have any experience in Washington. Mr.…

They Got Married by the Sea

At around 5 a.m. one day in the fall of 2016, Olivia Alexandra Barket received an unexpected knock on the door of her Brooklyn apartment. The knock came at a particularly hectic time. Ms. Barket was working for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, as its deputy director of Federal Election Commission reporting. The election was around…