Till deadlift do us part.
Before exchanging vows at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Boathouse in September, Zeena Hernandez, 27, and Lisa Yang, 28, made it clear they’re capable of doing the heavy lifting needed in a marriage — by doing three deadlifts of a 253-pound barbell. An image of the two blushing brides absolutely killing it has now gone viral.
“It was meant to not only be a symbol of unity, but also a statement,” Hernandez told Insider. “Individually we are strong, capable women — but together, we are stronger.”
The pair — both Olympic-style weightlifters — were capable of lifting the 253-pound weight individually, but decided to go easy on themselves on the big day. And by lifting a weight that is light by their standards, they were able to avoid warming up, and could do it in their gowns.
“We knew we were going to lift a weight without warming up, and we knew we would have a harder time keeping the bar close and maintaining good form because of our wedding dresses. So, we decided to go light,” said Hernandez, who runs a Brooklyn-based physical therapy company.
“A snatch or a clean and jerk in dresses might be a bit dangerous, so we settled on three deadlifts,” added Yang, referring to other lift styles the lovers considered doing.
The lift delighted wedding guests, who can be seen looking awe-inspired and shocked in photos, as well as the internet.
“It’s awesome to see couples personalizing their weddings to represent their relationship, and not blindly follow the classic wedding formula,” their wedding photographer, Eileen Meny, told the outlet.
It was Hernandez and Yang’s shared love of fitness which originally brought them together five years ago.
“Lisa accidentally liked my profile,” on OkCupid said Hernandez. “I thought she was cute so I messaged her first, and the rest is history.”
The two ran together, tried CrossFit and then began weightlifting. The idea to lift the barbell during the ceremony came up when they were interviewing a wedding DJ.
“We were joking about doing a tandem deadlift,” said Yang. “At the time it seemed ridiculous, because we’re Olympic [style] weightlifters and deadlift isn’t even our main sport.”
Normal wedding rituals didn’t resonate with them, though, so they ran with it.
“It was important for us to have a wedding that truly represented us as individuals and as a couple,” Hernandez said. “It wasn’t so much about weight lifting. It was more about being ourselves.”
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