Brenden Aaronson said he and his new wife, Milana D'Ambra, were "freaking out" when they discovered that their long-planned wedding would clash with the United States men's national team's World Cup training camp.
The marriage between Aaronson and D'Ambra, who met when they were 16, took place on May 30 on the New Jersey shoreline, and he rejoined the team for training on Saturday in Fayetteville, Georgia, before the USMNT headed to Charlotte to play Senegal in the first of two sendoff friendlies.
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Their wedding venue was confirmed about two-and-a-half years ago, and at the time Aaronson was told training camp would start on June 1, so the couple felt the May 30 date would work.
"When she learned we were going to be reporting at that time ... her face flushed, my face flushed, we were kind of freaking out because you put so much time and effort -- I mean, she put so much time planning the wedding, it was really scary," Aaronson told reporters on Tuesday.
Across one week, the midfielder travelled from club team Leeds United in the UK to the USMNT roster reveal in New York, followed by training in Fayetteville, Georgia, his wedding in South Jersey and back to Fayetteville to rejoin the U.S. World Cup preparations.
"It was a whirlwind of days, but also a really amazing whirlwind of days that I'm never going to ever forget," Aaronson said. "It was really special."
Aaronson said he spoke to U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino in March, offering to change his wedding date.
"Being able to have a conversation with the coach, being able to go into his office, it's open," Aaronson said. "He's very good at those kinds of conversations. He's humane, too. He knows that it's not easy being a footballer. It was an easy conversation to have with them.
Fortunately for the newlyweds, the double-booking didn't affect his schedule as much as initially anticipated.
"I'm very lucky that I got to go and spend that day," Aaronson said. "I'm really grateful to the coaching staff. It was an amazing day for myself, but I'm ready to get back to work and get ready for the World Cup."
The USMNT plays its final warm-up game ahead of the World Cup against Germany in Chicago on Saturday. It then begins the tournament by facing Paraguay at SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles on June 12.