Couple getting married in Texas during total solar eclipse

Editor’s Note: UT professor discusses key moments to look for during the total solar eclipse.

LAMPASAS, Texas (KXAN) — For one California couple, the total solar eclipse will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience in more ways than one.

While thousands plan to take in the eclipse’s “ring of fire,” the couple plans on exchanging wedding rings.

Clarissa Encarnacion and Wil Perkins are tying the knot during totality at a ranch in Lampasas.

The couple’s story

The two have been together for nearly six years. Encarnacion said they met as ICU nurses at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, California in 2018.

The two spent a year in Fort Worth, Texas while Perkins went to school to become a nurse anesthetist.

After graduating, the couple moved back to California where they work at the same hospital in San Bernardino.

In April 2022, the two got engaged in Big Sur.

The eclipse

Encarnacion said her fiancé saw the eclipse in 2017 and always talked about how amazing of an experience it was.

She said they planned on seeing it together.

Encarnacion said the two built a van together throughout the pandemic and had some adventures traveling around the country.

Both of their parents also converted their vans and agreed to tag along with them to Texas to see this year’s total solar eclipse.

Encarnacion said Texas will always have a special place in their hearts as the place where they survived the pandemic and created a lot of memories.

She said they’re most excited about celebrating their love under the eclipse with their loved ones.