Love isn’t cancelled, weddings just might have to look a little bit different right now. We’ve seen people pivoting and getting really creative with things like micro-weddings and virtual weddings gaining in popularity.
We spoke with a few local brides who are currently planning their weddings to see how they’re handling all of these changes. Our first couple is Bonnie & Josh. Here’s their story!
A few quick facts about the couple:
Bonnie is a Registered Nurse in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital. Josh is a Police Officer in Aspinwall. It’s been a bumpy road from “she said yes” to now – just a month out from their wedding! Between pandemic related setbacks, getting in a car wreck, and having their first venue file for bankruptcy, it’s been a wild ride!
When are you getting married?
January 9, 2021, 1 month from today!!
How did you meet?
Josh and I first met in study hall in high school when he would distract me from doing my spanish homework. Shortly after we started dating and we are now high school sweet hearts! We have had many adventures and have been together for almost 9 years! Four of those years were long distance while he served in the United States Marine Corp, two of which he was stationed in Japan. We have had our fair share of challenges, but I would not want to live this roller coaster ride of life with anyone else!
How did he propose?
Every year we try to go to Phipps Conservatory to see the Christmas light show. Last year, my friend happened to be in town and asked if we wanted to hang out. Josh used this as his opportunity to suggest Phipps without being suspicious. When we parked, he pulled out his jacket from the trunk of his car (which he had strategically placed the ring in the pocket without the box so that I would not notice anything). We were walking around when we got to a beautiful light display. We wanted to get a picture and as we were posing, he got on one knee and pulled out the ring from his pocket. I immediately started ugly crying and the rest is history!
How far are you into the wedding planning process?
As I am sure it has for many other brides, the answer to this question changes everyday based on COVID. We are mostly done planning the small ceremony and will soon begin to plan the big celebration for next year! Throughout all of this I have been trying to go with the flow and focus on the fact that I get to marry the love of my life and best friend!
Have you had to change your date due to the pandemic?
We decided that we did not want to wait any longer to get married. We are having a very small ceremony and have postponed the big celebration for our one year anniversary!
How has the pandemic changed how you’ve gone about planning your wedding?
My biggest focus has been on the health and safety of our guests and vendors. We have focused on ways to celebrate our day with our loved ones while practicing proper social distancing. It has definitely helped knowing we have AMAZING vendors such as Prima photography to help us capture the moments of our unique celebration. When beginning the process of planning, Prima Photography immediately became our number one choice!
How are you feeling about all of this and what impact has it had on you and the excitement you anticipated (if any) about planning your wedding?
I am not going to lie, I was initially very frustrated and disappointed that our big day is not going to look how I originally envisioned and that we would not have everyone with us on the day. However with me being a nurse and Josh being a first responder, we have chosen to focus on the bigger picture. We get to marry each other, and one day will tell our children how not even the pandemic of 2020 could stop our love story. Plus we get to have the BEST one year anniversary party, and have it captured by the amazing ladies of Prima photography!
A huge thank you to Bonnie for answering all of our questions and opening up about her experience! Next week, we’ll hear from Carey and Gary about their 2021 Summer wedding plans!