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. This week, we’re wrapping up our series with this charming couple who is not only extraordinarily photogenic, but also has an incredibly bright future ahead of them.
A few quick facts about the couple:
Katie is an Operating Room Nurse at UPMC Presbyterian and is working toward becoming a Nurse Practitioner. Anthony is a recent Pitt grad working as a Patient Care Technician at UPMC Shadyside while he waits to go to Medical School. As their choice of profession probably hinted, they’re incredibly warm and caring people who I’m sure will make their big day beautiful and full of love no matter what the pandemic has in store.. though I sincerely HOPE we’re done with all of this by Fall of 2022!!
When are you getting married?
September 17, 2022!
How did you meet?
Anthony and I actually met at his house!
In 2009, my younger sister and I went to Gymkhana Gymnastics with Anthony’s two younger sisters, and we all quickly became friends and started spending time together outside of the gym. We were over their house one day, and that is where I met Anthony for the first time. After that day we became best friends for around 3 years, dated for 7 years, and now are engaged!
How did he propose?
Anthony proposed on November 8, 2020 during one of our Prima photoshoots! I was walking in front of him and was supposed to “look back” at him for a photo, but when I looked back, he was down on one knee! I could not have asked for a better proposal because Jen was able to capture that special moment for Anthony and me to look back on!
How far are you into the wedding planning process?
I’d like to say Anthony and I have a general “rough daft” of our wedding done. We have our bridal party, wedding venue, officiant, caterer, DJ, and an amazing photographer from Prima all sorted, but have some fine details we are still working on such as décor and color schemes.
Have you had to change your date due to the pandemic?
Fortunately, we have not had to change our date due to the COVID-19 pandemic (yet)!
How has the pandemic changed how you’ve gone about planning your wedding?
Due to the pandemic, we have done a lot of virtual wedding planning so far. A lot of businesses are limiting in-person meetings and working with their couples via phone or email. For example, due to COVID-19 we are not doing the traditional wedding cake tasting at our bakery. We are picking up two sample cakes of our choice to try at home instead!
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?
Honestly my whole wedding planning experience, so far, has been pure bliss! Due to the pandemic and constant changes associated with it, we decided on a 2022 wedding date. This decision was to hopefully have things return as close to our old norm as possible and give us some extra time to plan. I think a two-year engagement has allowed both Anthony and I to enjoy the planning process on our own time without feeling the stress of meeting fast approaching deadlines (or potential last-minute changes due to the pandemic).
A huge thank you to Katie for answering all of our questions and opening up about her experience! We hope you’ve enjoyed this series! Next week, you’ll hear from Allie and I about our plans for 2021 🙂 Stay tuned!