A Small But Mighty Colorful Covid Wedding For 15
We love to see it! A successful wedding despite the horrid pandemic 2020 brought upon us. With a small guest list, this wedding was dreamy, sweet, and full of love. The mix-match of ceremony seating with cozy couches make this wedding feel so intimate along with socially distant reception tables and their beautiful table decor. This couple really went all out and made their dream wedding happen.
Keep scrolling to see all of the beautiful photos by Esther Funk Photography and the wedding dress by Essense of Australia. The Bride planned every detail and Lauren Wiebe created all of the amazing florals. You can see all the images in the full gallery.
A CHANGE OF PLANS
Roberta and Fernando were originally going to have about 150 people at the Winnipeg Art Gallery with a ceremony at her parents’ farm. Since Fer is from Mexico, and his family lives there, obviously that meant major changes to the wedding plans.
They still wanted to get married, but they pivoted: everything would now be on the farm just outside of Stonewall (Canada), and since his family couldn’t be there, the guest list would be massively reduced to the bare minimum, 15 people: the bride’s parents, siblings and spouses, 2 bridesmaids, and the groom’s best man and his wife, and 2 nieces. It may have been small, but dang it was mighty.
Her dad mowed a clearing into the pasture, a short walk through the oaks from the house. I can’t communicate how magical this space was! Because her dad was also officiating the wedding, Roberta walked most of the aisle alone, and the look on her face was so joyful and expectant. Fer was standing up at the altar, already crying when he turned to see her, with his family Facetiming to join in.
WEDDING DETAILS
The alfresco reception was set up under the oak trees on the front lawn of Roberta’s parents’ house. With cafe lights strung from the trees and music softly playing, once again the atmosphere was so incredible. Dining under the stars together really just felt like the best, most celebratory family dinner.
The one inspiration image Roberta showed was of serpentine tables, so we rolled with it! One unexpected bonus about using serpentine tables is that the curve forces you to sit farther apart than you usually would set a table. Not exactly the 6 feet of social distancing, but definitely less close.
The centerpieces were basically the only part of the decor plan we never had to change! We were always going to use a copper bowl as the vessel, and fill them with a riot of colorful flowers, and Roberta’s mom planted small terracotta planters with flowers and herbs to fill in the tablescape with.
Because of the reduced guest count, it was within their reach to splurge on rentals that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford for 150+ people. We chose cross-back chairs from Planned Perfectly for the guests and fun dark blue velvet chairs from Trend Decor for the couple. China from the bride’s mom and grandmother’s collections was layered for the place settings, and then we selected gold flatware, gold-rimmed wine glasses, and light pink glass water goblets from C&T Rentals. We finished the place settings with white linen napkins that we added navy fringe trim to, adding in some whimsy and reinforcing the dark blue in the palette.
Roberta’s Best Covid Wedding Planning Advice:
Here’s my best advice: Do what works best for you. If you want to go ahead with the wedding, do it! If you want to postpone, do it! Know where you are comfortable with Covid things, and allow that to guide your decisions. I am so glad we still made our wedding feel like a wedding.
In reality, we might never have the big after-party we planned for. We know that the border might not open for a while, and who knows if we will still feel like having the big party when the border opens (but let's be real, I will wear my dress again WHENEVER I get the chance). But if we don't get the chance to have the party, I don't feel like my wedding was a "mock wedding" — our wedding felt like a wedding.
- Cakes & Catering: Chew
- Cakes & Catering: L'Epi De Ble
- Couple: Roberta Velarde
- Dress & Apparel: BHLDN
- Dress Shop: Bliss Bridal Boutique
- Flowers: Lauren Wiebe
- Hair, Makeup & Beauty: Hair By Bethany
- Hair, Makeup & Beauty: Justine Barry Artistry
- Linen/Chairs: Planned Perfectly
- Menswear: RW & Co
- Photographers: Esther Funk Photography
- Rentals: C&t Rentals
- Rentals: Trend Decor
- Wedding Dresses: Essense of Australia