After Mr. Manning moved, they traveled to see each other at least once a month, either in New York or Dallas, where they would sleep in Mr. Manning's bedroom. When Mr. Wingfield began seminary the following year, they would also sleep in his dormitory.
“It's a rare thing when you meet someone who's fine with staying in a dorm,” Manning said, referring to common sleeping arrangements at the seminary. “We were both like, 'Yeah, this is cool.'”
In December 2022, during one of Manning's weekend visits to New York, he sat at the bar of the Commerce Inn, with Wingfield having dinner, his leg shaking. She had planned to propose the day before in the Hamptons, but a flood had ruined the trip. He finally did it at the bar, and Wingfield said yes, but before they told his loved ones, Wingfield said he also wanted to propose to Manning. Two weeks later, on a bench at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Wingfield asked Manning to marry him, and Manning said yes.
A year later, on January 13, they were married in a full Mass with communion in front of 80 guests at St. Luke in the Fields Church in Manhattan, where Mr. Wingfield had discerned his call to the priesthood.
The Rev. Bo Reynolds, an Episcopal priest and openly gay man, officiated the wedding. The Rev. Adam Gorman, a Presbyterian minister, served as intercessor, and the Rev. Jamie White, also a Presbyterian minister and one of Mr. Manning's seminary friends, delivered a sermon as homilist. As Mrs. White addressed the couple, the clouds outside parted and light flowed into the church, landing on Mr. Manning and Mr. Wingfield.
