YESSSS, we got married in this pandemic!
By now, most of you would’ve seen the post on Instagram announcing that indeed, we did get married on the very last day of 2020!
Dec 31st, 2020 will forever be my favourite date.
So, here’s the story. It’s not a very long one, but I will go into as much detail as humanly possible. LOL.
A little back story: As some of you may already know, a wedding wasn’t much of a priority to Andrew and I when we got engaged. We got engaged August 2019 and both decided that we’ll just chill. Neither of us knew what we wanted a wedding to look like, and the thought of planning a wedding just kind of put me off. I wanted to enjoy every moment of being engaged. It was such a special day. (Read our engagement story here!)
Anyway, months went by and lots of people were obviously asking if there was a date for a wedding, which of course we said, there wasn’t.
And then the pandemic happened and I saw so many brides in distress over their already planned weddings. So many canceled wedding, postponed weddings, money that was never refunded back, destination weddings canceled. It broke my heart for all these lovely brides.
And in the same breath, I was so thankful we didn’t plan a thing.
When Nov/Dec 2020 rolled around, we had thrown out something about getting hitched fast and quick. Non-traditional, and stress-free. Our families had also mentioned it to us on a few occasions.
I never gave it much thought, to be honest. Again, a wedding during a pandemic was certainly not on my mind.
CHECK OUT THE YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE. WARNING – THIS WILL MAKE YOU CRY.
But one December night, a few drinks in, Andrew and I thought, ‘FU*K IT, LET’S GET MARRIED!’ And let’s do it on New Year’s Eve. It was a crazy little idea, but it was adventurous and spontaneous. Which excited me, because I’m neither of those things…
Within 3 weeks we had the date booked.
There were a few things we needed to get done before the wedding date. This wasn’t going to be a quick City Hall wedding. This was a full-fledged church wedding. (Minus all the people).
In attendance were the two of us, our witnesses, their significant others, and the Priest who would marry us. 7 people, and that’s all. No parents, no siblings, no family, NO ONE, but the 7 of us. And it was beyond perfect.
The three weeks prior to our wedding date was stress-free and relaxed. Just how we wanted it. We had to do a marriage preparation course (Catholic wedding rules) which happened to be so insightful! The course was online, and about 6 hours of really good information from couples who’d been married for 20, 30, 40 years. It was great advice and I recommend it to any couple wanting to get married.
My dress was some $10 thing I had found at Winners maybe a year ago. It was damaged which is why it was $10. LOL. It had a rip in the zipper and there was a tiny green dot of a stain in the front. I sewed the zipper and couldn’t careless about the tiny green dot. I had never worn it before so it worked out well.
My best friend and witness, Victoria, decided to give me her veil from her wedding day. It was perfect and tied the whole look together. Blue shoes were an old, but favourite pair from Zara. And I had on my horseshoe ring from my Nanz. So, in the end we did the whole Something Blue, Something Borrowed, and Something Old tradition. 😉 It was a nice touch and came together seamlessly.
On the day of the wedding, I wanted a nice, relaxing morning with coffees, a nice breakfast spread, and some quiet time with my soon-to-be husband. None of this waking up at 4am for hair and make-up. NO THX. That is very much not me.
The morning was exactly how I pictured it. Slow and stress-free. Calm and cool. Just the two of us. It was everything I dreamed of for a wedding.
Then one of my good friend’s, Jessi, arrived to do my hair. She is my hairdresser and the best of the best. We settled on a tousled, mid-to-low bun with casual pieces falling out. Again, I was very easy on what I wanted. The hair took about an hour, and then I did my own make-up. It took me 20 minutes and I used all the products I love.
Do you guys want a break-down of my wedding day make-up? Let me know in the comments.
Mid afternoon we had our witnesses and their S/Os come over for a bite to eat before the ceremony. We had a beautiful charcuterie board filled with cheeses, crackers, olives, meats, etc.
And at 1pm we headed to the church for our small ceremony. The ceremony was 40 minutes. No music, no walking down the aisle, no fuss, nothing. We all just walked in together and took our seats.
Everything was smooth sailing after that. The vows, the ring exchange, the readings, and the kiss – just perfect.
This was the wedding I didn’t even know I wanted. It was intimate and meaningful and beyond perfect. The day was everything I imagined it would be, and I feel so blessed that we did it this way.
Of course, we will do a bigger celebration once Covid is over, but for now, we’re husband and wife, and I couldn’t be happier.
As for rings, I did not get a wedding band as I don’t know what I want yet. I want to wait till I find something perfect. Andrew got a solid, gold ring. Very traditional.
If you’re thinking of doing a quickie, pandemic wedding, I 10/10 recommend it. Weddings can be so tricky when family is involved with so many opinions and suggestions flying around. When you do it this way, it’s very much how YOU want it. And the focus is nothing but the two of you. Which is what I loved about this whole thing.
I’d love to know – Are you a bride? Did you have a wedding planned in 2020? Share in the comments.
Xx, kim
++ How to Throw The Chicest Bachelorette Party.
+++ New Year, New Beginnings: My 2020 Thoughts.
Congratulations! You look stunning! I love these photos 💕💕💕
Thank you so so much! xx