COVID-19 Couldn’t Stop Our Wedding
This is a story about love in the time of Corona. I’ve been trying to find the correct words to convey how I feel right now. I figure the best thing to do is to speak from the heart.
I see myself as a strong, positive, and independent individual, but the past few weeks have made me more emotional than I have ever been. I’ve felt feelings of uncertainty and fear that were never there before. We keep saying times sure are strange and wondering if this is really our new normal.
We had been planning our dream wedding for a year and half and were looking forward to what was supposed to be a huge celebration with friends and family from all over the world. Wedding Chicks has been an amazing source for inspiration. Our big day was supposed to be April 4th, 2020. Like many other couples all around the nation, we were forced to postpone our special day to Fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We went through plan A, B, and finally to C with all the restrictions and rules changing daily. Despite all the stressful cancellations and postponements we still wanted to get married and celebrate our love. With a limited but amazing team, we made it happen and shared our moment virtually with loved ones through a zoom conference call. They tuned in from everywhere to watch the ceremony in real time. The day turned out so beautiful, special, and intimate. Our friends even surprised us with a car parade through the neighborhood while socially distancing.
Kerry and I have spent a total of twelve years growing together as a couple. We were high school sweethearts and got engaged later on in Hawaii at a romantic secluded waterfall. He is my best friend and we love unconditionally. The past few weeks have been the most challenging but I know together, we can get through anything. COVID-19 couldn’t stop us from getting married and celebrating our love and commitment to each other. With the help of our closest family, friends, and vendors we had a truly unforgettable wedding. Everything turned out even better than I could have imagined. In these unprecedented times we must stay positive and be responsible for our actions. Be kind to others and choose love instead of fear, hate, and cruelty. The silver lining is that we have the story of a lifetime, get to marry the love of our life twice and celebrate in person with all our loved ones, and we have a love that will last until we are gray and old together.
I can’t even begin to express how grateful we are to the people who made this day so special and possible. My now husband, Kerry and I wanted to share our love story for those going through the same thing. Times are uncertain now but love is all that we need. What I learned from this whole experience is to not forget that a wedding and the celebration of marriage is between two people and that is what is important. That through this crisis, the person that you chose to be with is there for you and you are there for them. As long as you have each other you will get through this and everything will be okay in the end. Sometimes the unexpected turns out to be even better.
The still photos are from the video by Thy Ngo. Unfortunately, our amazing photographers, Laning Photography, couldn’t be there due to the shelter in place rules. They did tune in on the zoom video call though so they could be there with us.
- Cakes & Catering: Sara Mack Cakes
- Charcuterie: Amor Y Queso
- Flowers: Billie Ball & Co.
- Hair, Makeup & Beauty: Tamie Nguyen
- Hair, Makeup & Beauty: Peony Beauty Lab
- Live Music: Katie Ly
- Officiants: Reverend Nik Amin
- Wedding Dresses: Enzoani
- Wedding Dresses: Brickhouse Bridal
- Wedding Films: Thy Ngo