Ms. Collins’s next trip to the United States, in New York’s Hudson Valley, included yet another walk with Mr. Steuer, this one down the wedding aisle at FEAST at Round Hill, an events in Washingtonville, N.Y., where they were married July 22.
It was the first time the bride and groom had met each other’s extended families. They included the bride’s parents, Cheryl Lloyd, a set driver for movie productions in Atlanta, and Cedric Collins, a parole agent at San Quentin State Prison in California. Also among the 70 guests were the groom’s mother, Wilma Steuer, a former early childhood educator and his father, Dr. Irwin Steuer, a retired orthodontist in New York.
Adiya White-Hammond, a friend of the couple who became a Universal Life minister for the event, officiated.
“Believe it or not, it went really well,” Mr. Steuer said. “Once our two families sat down and talked, there was a lot of respect and warm feelings. Constance’s stepfather, Andre, came to me privately — with tears in his eyes — to share how he had initially misjudged me, and how he was proud of me and happy to call me family.
In August, Ms. Collins was reunited once more with Mr. Steuer, as she accepted a job as the service learning coordinator at the International School of Uganda.
“We didn’t exactly break down and cry when we were reunited,” Mr. Steuer said, laughing. “But we were completely overjoyed, I will tell you that.”
