REALLY, AN INTIMATE WEDDING?
My sister-in-law fills you in below of the highs and lows of planning a wedding in the midst of a pandemic…We know a lot of you guys are worried about what the future holds for your wedding day, but I can honestly say, I have never met someone as excited as Melissa was for their big wedding they had planned for years in their head. For both Michael and Melissa to look back now and say it was everything they could have ever wished for and more, shows that even in these crazy times, LOVE WINS….. Read below for Melissa’s story!
Yes! Finally, 2020 is here and I am getting married! It’s only a wildly over romanticised dream which I’ve been mentally planning since around the age of 8, I mean doesn’t everyone? When I look back over the years, I have always thrown big parties; whether I was celebrating my 18th, 21st or just a measly 26th, I have always been determined to celebrate surrounded by all my nearest and dearest. So, when my wonderful fiancé put a ring on my finger (after months of not so subtle hints) naturally I knew just what I wanted. Yes, I’m sure you’ve guessed, a huge, extravagant traditional wedding with a guest list big enough to challenge the royals.
The day after the proposal, 22nd September 2018, I remember feeling lifted, inspired and knew this is where my overly-stressy-organised inner Monica would come out. I downloaded every bridal Instagram account, re installed Pinterest, wrote a list of all the suppliers I wanted and bought every Bridal magazine I think known to man (No wonder I got lost reading!). Monday, I started contacting suppliers and by Thursday I am pretty sure everything was booked – I did get told ‘to slow down and relax’ by both my now husband and Mother. After a brief moment of thinking that I should probably practice some self-care, I switched back into the Bride to be, with a full speed ahead attitude – this is my big day, right?
Fast forward to January 2020, my emotions are sky high… what a year to be alive…I am going to get married in front of 120 guests, with ALL the attention on me – woop! Just exactly what I have always wanted! February quickly approaches with little mention in the news of how much our lives are going to change. In March, I managed to celebrate my hen with my ‘Bride Tribe’…the day after we returned and BOOM, straight into national lockdown.
Erm, sorry what? A thousand questions raced through my mind in seconds with a frantic need for answers: What does this mean for weddings? Can we get married?! How many people can we have?! Hello, I need answers! Do you not realise that I have been planning this for the last 20 years?? Non-stop daily anxiety and stress crept in; I couldn’t think of anything else except one big question ‘will I be getting married?’. Like most couples getting wed, we had invested a lot of money, time and a whole lot of brain power on creating the ‘perfect’ wedding. I had 120 personalised shot glasses, £200 worth of personalised M&Ms, table names, bridal party gifts, the list is endless, all ready and waiting in my house... I was surrounded by ‘my 2nd of May wedding’.
The confirmation came that May weddings were unable to go ahead, needless to say, I was absolutely gutted. However, as the months passed and the news digested, I started to question, why am I getting married? And I realised, it’s not for the ‘show’ or the ‘party’, it’s because I genuinely love and adore Michael and I want to be his wife and spend the rest of my life with him – it really is as simple as that. In that moment I realised that we were going to get married regardless, even if it meant having a small wedding. Fortunately, both Michael and I only have small families, so the guest list was quite simple. Friends was another story, but we will celebrate with them all once we’re allowed to have a party of more than 30!
The night before the wedding my emotions were all over the place, I had invested so much of my energy on worrying on whether we would actually be able to get married that I had forgotten to enjoy the build-up. My advice to any bride in these circumstances would be to think about the real reasons why you’re getting married, choose a date, enjoy the build up to your big day and go for it!
The wedding day was as perfect as it could be under the current restrictions and turned out to be incredibly special. All our immediate family and closest friends were there, watching us become Husband and Wife. The intimacy of the day and happiness shone through every aspect and I caught up with everyone without the guilt of missing anyone out. All the guests knew each other so there was no fear of awkward introductions either or worrying who will get on with who! Michael and I had so much fun with all the guests, we felt relaxed and at ease throughout the entire day and genuinely enjoyed every minute – rare I think for larger weddings.
Reflecting on ‘the day’, I genuinely believe close intimate weddings are the way forward, the real reason for getting married, a recognised union is at the epicentre of the day as well as pure love and happiness.
So, if you love your bride/groom to be with all your heart, then what are you waiting for?
Best wishes,
The Corona Bride x
