Delayed but Not Diminished
Monique’s and O’Darius’s wedding website states, “It all started with a text. A text led to 5 years of dating, 1 year and 9 months engagement, and a lifetime of love.”
What a beautiful couple and love story. Monique and O’Darius meticulously planned every facet of their wedding but never considered a pandemic. Who would have?
They were expecting about 150 guests to attend their May 2, 2020 celebration that included a wedding party of 26 people. All their plans were coming together perfectly. However, in late January and early February 2020 they started to hear news stories about novel coronavirus (aka COVID-19). At the time, this was a sad human-interest story that really wasn’t a concern. There was no way that an outbreak in China would impact a wedding in Angier, North Carolina. But, in March when North Carolina was quarantined, the thought began to set in that their wedding day as planned was in jeopardy.
Both Monique and O’Darius are pretty laid back and don’t get overly stressed about many things. However, Monique admitted that during late March, all she could think about was the wedding and what to do.
What made things more difficult was that the venue had no other openings available, so postponing was not an option. Their wedding planner (me, 😊!) spoke with the venue representative a few times but the options remained unchanged. The choices were:
Postpone the wedding and select another venue (and, receive no refund from the current venue)
Reduce the number of invited guests and wedding party so that no more than 50 people (including vendors) would be present
Hold tight for a few weeks to see what happens
Monique and O’Darius chose the third option and it paid off. In late March, Monique received a call from the venue representative asking her if she wanted to postpone her wedding to July 25, 2020. As fate would have it, there was a cancellation! Without a thought, Monique grabbed the date; and, what was even better, all of their vendors were able to accommodate the new date.
Now, we are about 45 days from the July wedding date and excitement is growing. North Carolina has been gradually reopening, and over 100 people have stated their intention to attend. Of course, there are new safety considerations such as social distancing, hand sanitizer in abundance, face masks, and new vendor protocols. However, these unexpected circumstances haven’t diminished their commitment to each other or their dreams.
As the next few weeks fly by, everyone’s focus is on ensuring that Monique and O’Darius have their amazing (though slightly delayed) wedding day that is also safe for all who attend.
Stay tuned. We’ll be sharing their big day with you!