Wedding Recap & More Photos

Happy Monday! It’s been about a month since I’ve been here, but my crazy summer semester finally ended! I have just 7 weeks left until graduation?!? I’m starting to prep for my NCLEX (nursing boards exam) this week and really can’t wait to be on a normal work schedule for a bit. I definitely know that I want to pursue a graduate degree in Nursing, but still undecided as to what type of track I’m most interested in. Also applying to (what seems like) a million jobs, so there’s that. We also decided that an island honeymoon might not be in our future (due to COVID-19 uncertainties over the next year), but are now thinking about renting an RV a few weeks after I graduate and either going out to Glacier National Park or up to Newfoundland through Canada. It’s not the relaxing beach that we were both originally thinking about, but both locations are somewhere we’ve always wanted to visit (and it would be nice to have something before I begin work rather than booking it a few months into working). So, needless to say- lots to look forward to over the next few months!

I hope you had a great 4th of July weekend. Celebrating this year felt quite different for me (at least)- I’m not feeling as patriotic as I have in the past and times are scary (to me) with how much political/racial unrest/ so many amazing organizations getting defunded/ in the middle of a pandemic/ potential recession/ many jobs lost. It just feels like there’s a whole lot left unsettled and not a lot of guidance from our leaders (in my opinion). So, not a whole lot of red, white, & blue for us, but still feeling grateful that we have each other and an upcoming election and hopefully a vaccine and hopefully less racial disparity to look forward to over the next few months. Lots of hope.

So, enough babbling! I know you are really just here for more of our wedding photos and a full recap (can you believe it’s been one month since we got hitched?!?).

I remember being so nervous the night before the Wedding and even the morning of-couldn’t eat much breakfast (but was super hungry) and also feeling so much excitement! We had a total of 12 people at our Wedding (held in the backyard of my mom’s house)- Alex’s parents, his brother and sister-in-law, my parents & their spouses, my grandmother, and the photographer. We decided to keep the date and the time of the ceremony the same because it seemed like the perfect time of year/ time/ we loved the date for our anniversary (6/6/20). I was fortunate enough to just have my hairdresser open up appointments 2 weeks beforehand and nail salons opened up in New Hampshire the week of our wedding. It really was incredible timing. My mother-in-law bakes the most incredible cakes, so we had her do a small cake for us and cupcakes for everyone else. Didn’t it turn out so beautiful?!?

We originally had booked with a florist, signed a contract, and paid for a flower arch/my bouquet/ his boutonnière, however when my mom arrived the morning of our wedding to pick them up- the flower shop was closed and had written down our date wrong! At the push of my hairdresser (my appointment was at the same time that the flowers was going to be picked up), we walked to the flower shop that was adjacent to her studio and they were gracious enough to put together a bouquet for me and boutonniere for Alex. If it wasn’t for them, we would have had a flower arrangement from Hannafords! They turned out SO beautiful and were just what I originally wanted (without me telling them anything about what I was looking for)- she even picked the peonies from her garden. DG Flower Studio in North Conway- is the bomb. Also, my hairdresser at Lotus Organic Hair Studio- Sarah is my favorite. Thanks so much to both of them for making my day the best! My mom bought flowers from Hannafords to quickly put-together the flower arch- maybe she has a new side-gig of a florist?!? We got the arch from Wayfare.

Alex helped set-up the table settings while I was at my appointment. We used vases that we had at the house from my great-grandmother and had most of the decorations that we purchased for our original ‘big day’. I just grabbed some additional flowers from Shaws to have on the tables (they somehow lasted three weeks after our wedding too?!?). We still had a ‘National Park’ theme for our tables and I really loved how they turned out. My mom (thankfully) rented a small white tent and tables/chairs from a local rental company (it did rain for a small amount)- I thought it was too extravagant when she first mentioned it, but I know that moms are always right and gave her full permission to do whatever she wanted (ha- thankful I did that)!

We had facemasks with our names/wedding date made for all of our guests and purchased small gifts for our guests at Zeb’s (with a little thank-you card).

The weather kept changing throughout the week, so I had no idea what to expect (thunderstorms/ rain/ sun/ clouds- it went through every single option throughout the entire 7 days leading up). The ceremony was set for noon and I remember getting ready at 11. I was nervous and really wish my girlfriends were there to get ready with me! Also jealous that Alex had his brother to get ready with. At 11:58am- it started downpouring. So, everyone had to bring things under the tent (our tables were all set-up) and wait for it to pass. We had sent-out a zoom link for family/friends to watch our wedding, so we had the computer set-up as well. I remember sitting inside and thinking- well, what else can the universe through at us? We’re ready for anything at this point. Alex came inside for a minute to see what we wanted to do and I remember thinking how handsome he was! I was no longer nervous and so excited to begin this next chapter of our lives together.

At 12:05- it stopped raining for a minute and while it looked like another storm might be coming, we decided to go for it! We would do the ceremony and then come under the tent if needed until it cleared again for the reception. It was so windy when I walked down with my dad, that my mom had to hold the arch (‘altar’)- she also become an ordained minister because we couldn’t find anyone to perform the ceremony given the current pandemic.

She only got choked-up once and it was perfect. Right when Alex began to say his vows, it started to downpour again. Thanks to Jenn and his mom for supplying us with umbrellas. Who would have thought that it would have down-poured on us at exactly 12pm?!? The ceremony was kind of a blur for me and thankfully we both heard each others vows the day before- we weren’t as emotional as I think we would have been!

The rain began to stop shortly after the ceremony ended (and we all huddled under the tent for a minute or two). Then, our photographer (Wildbunch Weddings- they are amazing!!) took us out for some photos.

I ended up getting my shoes super muddy (thankfully I decided to not purchase designer shoes, but rather just regular ones from Nordstrom Rack) and even my dress did too, but our photos were beautiful and it was so worth it.

Alex was in-charge of purchasing the champagne and he had to buy us the Dom Perignon (because that’s what ‘the rappers drink’) - it was honestly delicious! We had just champagne the afternoon and purchased less-expensive ones for our guests. Also- champagne bottles are much harder to open than I remember them being.

Our photographer left after we all had our first-dances (Alex & I, him & his mom, me & my dad), before the food arrived. We arranged to have it delivered to us from 302 Roadhouse shortly after 1:30pm and had each family put in their individual order with us. The restaurant individually packed up their meals, so we wouldn’t have to share any food and it worked out perfectly. I ordered a burger and thought it was just totally ‘me’ to be eating a cheeseburger in my Wedding Dress. Alex’s brother commented that this was the best Wedding food he’s had because he got to pick it out. Glad we could do something a little different, given the circumstances! The rain had cleared by then and with just a small amount of wind/ 70s - the weather was perfect!

The rest of the afternoon was just chatting, listening to Alex’s dad sing us two songs with his guitar. He puts together an original song for each of the familys wedding for the newlyweds and ours was to Long May Your Run by Stills-Young band - it was perfect. I remember arriving home around 6:30pm that evening and we were exhausted, but also so happy. We ate the hors d’oveures that we had purchased for our guests to have while we were taking photos, but never got put out because of the fluster with the rain/ weather/ photographer taking everyones pictures! That was one of my favorite parts because we had cheese/crackers/grapes while opening up the Wedding Cards that we received.

It was a totally untraditional, not what we originally planned day, but it was perfectly imperfect. We hit so many bumps in the road to get here, but we made it over them with more momentum than before.

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What do you remember about your Wedding day?

Anyone else have to change their pandemic wedding or alter it?

We Did It!

I cannot believe it’s been a month since I last blogged. It kinda feels like an eternity, but also where did the last 4 weeks go?!? My class load this month (June) is crazy busy, so this might be one of just a few updates this month, but I just wanted to come on and share some of our WEDDING photos with you! That’s right- we go hitched on Saturday!

We had a Pandemic Wedding with just our immediate family (12 people in total- including the photographer) and it was perfect. It was held at my mom’s home overlooking the White Mountains and on the Saco River. The setting was beautiful and yes, it did rain for maybe 5 minutes (while we were saying our vows- of course-), but it was just the best day ever. We had so many wrenches thrown into our day- Pandemic, over-priced venues, figuring out how to zoom the Wedding with family and friends, flower shop writing down our wedding date wrong (and scrambling to find replacement flower 3 hours prior to the ceremony), trouble finding a shirt for Alex since most shops around here are either closed or offering limited hours, and trying to do seating arrangements with keeping social distancing in mind.

The weather turned out to be perfect once the ceremony finished (of course, it had to pour rain during that time) and it was such a fun afternoon. We ordered custom-printed face masks for everyone to have, ordered takeout to be separated per family so no one would need to share food, and kept our social distancing pretty well (for the most part).

I remember being so nervous the morning of the Wedding- could barely eat breakfast and felt rushed to get so many things done (I can’t even imagine how I would have felt if we were having the bigger Wedding we were originally planning)! But then, once I got my hair done and figured the flowers out- my nerves went away and I was just so excited. I honestly haven’t felt this at peace and content in a LONG time. Since our wedding, I’ve felt so much less stress and pressure. It’s a weird feeling, but honestly maybe it’s just pure happiness? IDK. I am, however, also really looking forward to getting a bunch of new kitchen items from our registry to be delivered this week (ha). I’m pretty happy Alex is on board with it since he does also benefit from the gifts (he gets me to cook delicious meals.. ; ) ).

Our photos have all been uploaded and we’re going to look through them hopefully tonight! I can’t wait to share more of a recap with you when I get time (I’ve got another exam to study for on Friday).

It was such a beautiful day and we can’t wait to share more photos and memories with you! We honestly couldn’t have done it without our families- they helped us put together our own little gathering and helped us celebrate. We’re so lucky!

What It Really Feels Like Cancelling Your Wedding During a Pandemic

6/6/20 was our day. We physically walked through close to 30 venues. Spent 5 months trying to decide where our perfect spot would be. We didn’t want anything too extravagant and where we would be paying the majority of it, we also didn’t want to start our lives together in debt (who does?). We got engaged in October 2018, moved to Maine in June 2019, and began our search shortly thereafter.

Our wedding date should have been in 36 days. I had literally dreamt of this day since I was a little girl with my barbies (totally clichè right?). I remember wearing a tiara around my house envisioning myself getting married (probably to that cute older kid that was at my babysitter’s house). After dating for 5 years (I literally knew I wanted to marry him after 5 or 6 months so this felt like an eternity), it still came as a surprise when we decided to get engaged. Actually I’m pretty sure I bawled my eyes out because I was so happy and surprised.

Needless to say, I’ve been envisioning and waiting for my Wedding day for a really really long time. June 6th sounded like the perfect day- I mean who can forget 6/6/20 as their Anniversary date? I would have just turned 30, Alex just turning 37, it was a Saturday - everything was falling into place. I already found my Wedding dress last summer (for $50!), so a summer wedding fit it perfectly.

Invitations were mailed out, we began to make plans. We met with Florists, DJs, Photographers, made down-payments on all of them. Then, the Coronavirus hit us all hard.

In the beginning, I had trouble envisioning it affecting our wedding (it was only early March- how could this last that long?). Then, others around us started to cancel or rebook their Wedding date and it broke my heart to imagine that becoming a reality. I had all of my outfits picked out for the weekend- I couldn’t wait for the morning-after brunch! I envisioned our pizza buffet during the reception. I couldn’t wait to stay in our fancy manor for the weekend with amazing mountain views. Now, those dreams were slowly fading away.

I’m working as an LNA during these times and getting my degree to become an RN in August, so I’m certainly fairly practical when it comes to envisioning the impact that the virus can have on us here in Northern New England. I’m not on the frontlines, but I am in a long-term care facility right now and have heard enough conversations to know that holding a large event in early June is not a good decision. This reality crushed me.

We talked of postponing our wedding, but how can we really know what things will look like in the next 7 or 8 or 12 months? It would be awful to set a new date and then have to reschedule it again. Also, I had been dreaming of June 6th for months (and before a date was even set- I’ve been dreaming of this day for decades). I knew we couldn’t ask family or friends to travel or choose not to come to our Wedding, so we ultimately decided to cancel. We lost our deposits, money that we had scrounged up during an already very tight time (I’m going back to school full-time and we are currently relying on basically one income to take care of all our bills, animals, and home).

We ultimately decided to still get married on June 6th. We’re holding a small elopement at a family member’s home overlooking the river. Our immediate family will be there (7 people), but I’m anticipating most either won’t get out of their car or will stay a social distance away. My mom became an ordained minister so she can legally marry us since our original one can no longer come. Our photographer will still be there, so we’re thankful for that. We won’t be able to hug our parents after saying ‘I Do’. Maybe we can do take-out and sit in a giant circle after the ceremony, but it really depends on what things look like a month from now. We’ll have our first dance, not on a floor overlooking the White Mountains, but in a field along the river on our cellphones probably (thank goodness for technology these days). We’ll share our vows with each other and stream the ceremony on Zoom for all those who were invited can feel like they’re taking part in it with us.

It’s not the same and it’s not what any of us envisioned, but we’re making do. In the midst of uncertainty, it’s nice to know that June 6th will still be our special day.