Covid Elopement in Birds Hill Park
2020 has been a weird year for weddings, and sometimes it seems like it’s not even worth talking about anymore. That’s exactly why I’m starting this new blog series, because I want to celebrate our “Covid weddings” and, at the same time, inspire you with ideas on how you can make sure that Covid-19 doesn’t define your wedding!
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing images and stories from the weddings of couples who chose to take 2020 and Covid-19 head-on, changing and changing and changing their wedding plans to ultimately allow them to celebrate when and how they best saw fit.
Paula and Steve ~ June 27, 2020
Photos by Ally Papko Photography
We made the decision to postpone our original plans for a big wedding celebration until 2021. We plan to have a one year anniversary/postponed wedding celebration almost exactly one year from when our original wedding date was planned. However, after being engaged for a year and a half and being so excited to finally be husband and wife, we decided to also have a very small, intimate ceremony this year on our original wedding date.
In our original wedding floral plans, Paula wanted a very natural, wildflower feel, taking inspiration from the wildflowers that grow near their cabin as well as the daisies her mother carried down the aisle on her wedding day. There are a lot of yellow wildflowers that grow locally, so with that and the daisies in mind, I added in some more whites and a touch of light blue delphinium, along with ferns and olive foliages.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: daisies, locally grown ranunculus and Queen Anne’s Lace, delphinium, snap dragons, campanula, olive, ferns.
I wanted to share these first look photos to show you that, even if your covid wedding isn’t how you pictured your wedding to be, the emotion is still SO REAL. This is not a practice wedding! It’s the real deal, and you deserve to feel all that excitement, all that happiness, all that amazement!
One of the biggest things that changed is we went from planning the day with a wedding coordinator at a venue that does weddings every weekend all year to planning something ourselves with no blueprint. One of the challenges was that aside from not knowing anyone who had eloped before, there also just wasn't really any resources for how to plan a COVID wedding. Nobody had been through this before so it wasn't as though we could just google it. In terms of how we felt, obviously there was quite a bit of disappointment at first, but then as our plan came together it turned to optimism. We ended up really excited that we got to do something that felt very personal, as opposed to more of a cookie cutter wedding designed to accommodate 200+ guests. We ended up really looking forward to getting to make the day a lot less structured and way more intimate for the few guests we did have on hand. What didn't matter anymore was basically anything that didn't lead to us getting married. After having to change, cancel, rework, restructure so much of our plan over the months proceeding, we ended up just really focused on "by the end of the day we'll be married." Anything else was a luxury.
Funny story about this arch…
This was supposed to be a 5-10 minute install for me. Paula and Steve sent me the directions to exactly where in the park they’d be getting married, and I had everything prepared. I didn’t feel like going alone, so I asked my husband and toddler to come along with me just for fun. I thought our little guy could run around outside for a little while. While we got into the van, my husband asked me, “Should I bring my drill bag?” And I said, “No, we won’t need it… Actually, might as well.” That was a VERY lucky thing.
The arch was borrowed from some friends of the couple, and must have been staked or drilled into whatever surface it was originally built for, because let me tell you: this arch was LIGHT. And when I say light, I mean it could have nearly blown away with just the breath from my mouth. Steve and his groomsman were setting it up, and wouldn’t you know, it toppled over and one of the sides snapped. Well, out came the drill and I got to work coming up with an alternative plan because all of the floral I had planned for the arch definitely wasn’t going to work. Steve’s dad brought a piece of 2x4 that my husband created a brace out of to add extra support to the broken side, and we grabbed some sand bags out of the back of Steve’s truck to weight the base.
I added one floral piece to attach slightly above the broken piece, so that the snap line would be covered. The second floral piece was also supposed to hang on the arch, but I decided to re-work it and place it on the opposite side of the triangle’s base, so that I could hide the sandbag. I had to rearrange some of the stems to give it more height, and then I actually shoved some water tubes deep into the grass and added taller foliage stems around it, so that it felt a little more natural. I did the same on the other side, adding the foliage to make it look as though it was growing naturally and to hide that sand bag as well.
I'm not sure anything was easier than our previous plan. We did a lot ourselves that we had planned to outsource. One of the biggest challenges wasn't actually deciding who could come to a small ceremony, but dealing with the emotions of people we knew we were disappointing by not including them. We made our plan at the tightest of COVID restrictions and told everyone that no matter what the government changed between then and the ceremony date, our plan was staying the same. However, as restrictions loosened a lot of people seemed to expect us to change our plan and that made for some lengthy and disheartening conversations with family members.
Looking back we absolutely LOOOOOVED our day. It was magical. It felt so special. Two things we really felt like we missed out on: the first is that it's the one day you get to have a full day with your people. We've both been in wedding parties before and that day is always so fun, but its someone else’s friends. There's always a sibling, or a work friend, or someone that you just don't know as well as the rest of the group. That day was supposed to be our day with our people. The second is getting to celebrate with our friends afterwards. Having a real reception and getting to drink and dance and celebrate our day. However we do have that planned for June of next year, so here's hoping that's able to happen and we get those things we missed out on then.
Here’s what we would pass on to other couples: It's your day. Simple as that. There will be lots of people with lots of advice on how you should do things or how they would do things, but everything comes back to what you envision and what will make you happy. Always keep that in mind and make every decision based on that. You may ruffle some feathers along the way, but in the end, you'll look back and know you got exactly what you wanted on your day. And enjoy the ride, if at the end of the day you're married then nothing else matters.
(And you know, stuff like your arch snapping in half and your florist's husband having to screw it back together while you run off to take first look photos … All part of the experience!)
Obviously I couldn’t resist ending with this adorable puppy portrait!
Ally Papko Photography ~ Prairie Film Co ~ Bliss Bridal Boutique ~ Harry Rosen
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
2021 wedding dates are limited! Flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Whether you already have a specific vision or want me to dream up something custom just for you, reach out to Stone House Creative for stunning bridal bouquets, truly unique ceremony backdrops, and beautiful floral centrepieces to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding!