Chicago couple Emmy and David had been planning (and still are, for the time being) a 300-person wedding at the end of May. But as Emmy and David followed the news, things became increasingly clear that coronavirus was not just a serious threat to their wedding plans, but to the health of their family and friends. So, Emmy and David decided to take things into their own hands: “Rather than live in the limbo of the uncertainty of how this would affect us,” Emmy told me, “we decided on Friday evening that we would take control and make our love official.” Here’s how they made it happen.
How they planned the nuptials so quickly: “Once we made the decision, we had to mobilize as soon as possible. We set it for 36 hours later! Fortunately, David had the foresight to get our marriage license in early March, so that was out of the way. My dad had officiated my sister’s wedding, so he had the ability to do this on short notice. David's parents hosted us at their home in the suburbs. And our families were already social distancing, so nobody had any plans to rearrange!”
What the ceremony was like: “It was sort of surreal. We were working out the logistics in the living room—who takes photos, where everyone would stand, how to position the iPad to FaceTime my sister, etc.). And then, all of a sudden, the ceremony was happening! We stood in the middle of the room with my dad, and the rest of our family surrounded us (with appropriate social distancing). There was no pomp and circumstance. My dad put together a beautiful ten-minute ceremony, including a traditional exchange of vows and rings, and David's dad had a reading as well.”
And the very short ‘reception’: “We had a light meal, cake, some photos and then everyone went their own way. We didn’t want our decision to get married to put our families at risk, so we wanted to keep it short.”