11 Reasons Why I Loved My Covid-19 Micro Wedding!
I’ve had the pleasure of writing about real Vow Exchange weddings on this blog for almost two years. Now I get the unique pleasure of sharing my very own wedding! I’ve pretty much always dreamed of having a very small, very personal wedding. Working at The Vow Exchange for the past five years only made me more certain of that. So when the love of my life proposed to me on our 8th anniversary on July 19, 2019, I knew right away that I wanted to have a simple ceremony & reception at my home away from home - The Vow Exchange Chapel!
It didn’t take us long to settle on the date of March 20, 2020 as our wedding day. Little did we know then, this would be during a world wide pandemic and smack dab in the middle of a ban on events with over 10 people. Like I said, we were already planning a small wedding…just not quite that small. But we knew we couldn’t stand to wait another day to get married. So after a few tears were shed (okay, a lot of tears) and some plans rearranged, we cut our guest list from 50 to 10 just days before the wedding. Though it was stressful at the time, I am so happy with the decision we made to move forward with our wedding - even if it had to be a micro one. Now looking back I can’t get over how perfect our little micro wedding was and I wouldn’t have wanted to have it any other way. In fact, I have a million reasons I loved our Covid-19 micro wedding! And I want to help reassure all the couples out there who have had to change their big day plans, your wedding will still be beautiful, magical, and meaningful (maybe even more so). I know mine was and I can give you plenty of reasons why.
1. We had more time to focus on the little things.
With our European honeymoon called off, we suddenly had a lot less packing to do which gave us some more time for planning our ceremony. I was able to spend more time hand crafting my bouquet which made it that much more special. Also, Josh and I had time to take a last minute trip to World Market where we picked out a unique candle that we lit right before the ceremony and continued burning throughout our stay-at-home honeymoon. Dandelion & Arugula is now our special scent!
2. I still got to say hi to grandma!
Even though she wasn’t there in-person, I still got to wave hello to my grandma-in-law before waking down the aisle! She has been teasing us about how we needed to hurry up and get married for almost 8 years now. It was a special moment seeing her via FaceTime and being able to joke with her about how we were finally going to make her happy!
3. It was a lot less nerve-racking with only 10 people present.
I was soooooo nervous. Josh would tell you he can hear my nervous laugh just looking at this picture. In fact, that Fireball I’m holding was given to me by Josh to help me calm my nerves. I kept thinking to myself “I can’t believe I was going to do this in front of all those people we originally invited”. I was honestly thankful that I didn’t have to!
4. I got to see my dad’s silly side!
Knowing my dad, he would have been more reserved had our entire group of friends & family been present. But, lucky for me, I got to see his silly side that only comes out when it’s just us!
5. My bff amy was our officiant!
When only 10 people can be present, you start getting creative with your guest list. I couldn’t imagine getting married without my bestie, Amy, present and since she’s an ordained officiant we asked her to take over the role of marrying us! Which turned out to be the best decision ever. Just click over to see how she was looking at me as I walked down the aisle - now that’s love :)
6. We had no timeline to adhere to.
As a wedding coordinator, I know all too well how weddings quickly go by in a blur especially for the bride & groom. We went from originally having a pretty strict timeline to just doing whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. Which gave us more time for moments like these!
7. There was time for every one of our guests to give a toast.
Literally every single guest gave a toast! That would have taken hours with the original guest list. But when you have a wedding with only 10 folks, there is time for everyone to say a little something. This wasn’t planned at all, but one of the many spontaneous and amazing moments that came with having a covid-19 micro wedding. Click through to see them all!
8. Our guests really “got us”.
We got to let out our own silly side with zero judgement! Don’t get me wrong, it was inevitable that we were going to totally nerd out at our wedding regardless. But it was great doing so in front of our closest family & friends who never expected us to stick with tradition in the first place. P.S. Click over to see our really silly side.
9. I got my first dance!
When we first realized we might have to change our wedding plans, I was heartbroken about missing out on our first dance moment. We’d spent weeks listening to songs and picking out the one that was just right for us. So, as you can see, I was so happy when I got to have my first dance with my man. Again, there was no timeline for our micro wedding, so after we ate some cake, I asked my husband if he wanted to dance with me. And lucky for me, he said yes :)
10. My guests went all out!
I love my girls and their antics and they definitely did not disappoint! Kat & Des performed their, now infamous, karaoke duet cover of “It’s Oh So Quiet” by Bjork. Even little Sophie sang us a love song that she wrote herself! I now have so many memories of our friends and family from our little micro wedding that I would not trade for the world!
11. It was the intimate wedding I’d always dreamed of.
We had always dreamed of having an elopement. I think any couple who has gotten married can agree the guest list adds up fast. Even though we knew we wanted to keep it small, it was impossible to settle on a guest list of fewer than 50. Or at least it felt impossible until the city made it illegal to have gatherings over 10. So in many ways, we got the wedding we had truly always dreamed of!
I couldn’t help but share more of my favorite wedding moments! See Our “Real Wedding” gallery below!
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