Photo Credit: Rebecca Sanabria Photographs; @howrebeccaseesit
Couples who planned to get married this year have absolutely had a rough year. We mourn with them, we say oh đ© with them, and we celebrate the hell out of them for hanging in there. These couples have been THROUGH IT to make tough decisions on whether to elope, because they #justcantwait, to host a small ceremony (minimony) now and delay the bigger party for later, or to postpone the whole thing for a [hopefully] safer time, and theyâre doing this industry proud with their pivots. That being said, for other couples, who might not be getting married this year, but instead celebrating big anniversaries or even just run-of-the-mill annual ones, there probably couldnât be a better time to renew those vows or live in those memories for just a moment.
Case in point, Tiffani Thiessen. Just last week, the actress and her husband celebrated 15 years of marriage - and she totally outdid herself with the magic she worked for the major milestone.
âLast night I surprised my husband with a special 15 year anniversary gift. I recreated a âat homeâ version of our wedding. From the table, to the flowers, to the decor and even the menu beautifully re-created by my dear friend @maili_halme who did our wedding. It was a memorable night to say the least...and I think I blew my husbandâs socks offâŠâ
Weâre obsessed with this idea for many reasons, but we love it the most, because the timing makes perfect sense. COVID is still dictating everything we do, but an at-home wedding recreation âfollows all the rules.â Itâs intimate, itâs safe, itâs comfortable, and itâs beyond special.
According to Thiessenâs good friend and wedding chef, Maili Halme, the recreation was as on-point as possible, âshe had saved everything and even had the original olive branches on their champagne glasses from their wedding day. I still had the exact trays and bowls we used at their wedding to recreate the exact centerpieces. Brady was so surprised! He had no idea! The sweetest part is that the pastor that married them, Jon Ireland, sent a video prayer and blessing to them on their anniversary.â
I mean⊠all the đ right??!
Youâll probably have these things on your side to make it happen, too!
As we mentioned earlier, couples have been making inspiring moves with their alternate wedding plans, and itâs not just brides and grooms who are adapting - wedding pros are changing course and getting super creative with their event strategies and services so as to be more COVID-friendly. So, if you worked with a local team of talent - who youâve kept in touch with (or not) - for your wedding, reach out and see if theyâd be on-board with helping you redo your original I Dos at home. We canât imagine any vendor not wanting to be a part of the scaled-down fete, unless, of course, theyâre occupied with another wedding, elopement, virtual vow exchange, etc.