So, You’re Planning a Wedding During COVID?

When you hear married couples say that their wedding day was their best day ever, they are so right.

Hi there! My name is Erica Michelsen. That’s right. I married a Michelsen! My husband, Kane, and I have been married for over two months. We got married on August 22, 2020. Yes, during a ‘pandemic’.

Before I get into the mushy, gushy and happiness of our marriage, let me tell you first…planning a wedding during a ‘pandemic’ is AWFUL. We should have been worrying about centerpieces, colors, having fake flowers or real flowers but instead we were worrying about trying to keep everyone safe and healthy. This included having tables six feet apart, having a seating arrangement, TONS of hand sanitizer, providing masks and keeping physical touching (such as hugging and hand shaking) to minimum or nothing at all. We had sadness in our hearts when family members couldn’t attend (but we understood this 100%). We respected everyone’s decision on whether to attend or not.

A downfall of having a wedding during a ‘pandemic’ was the fact that we had to downsize our guest list to family. Kane and I both have a lot of family on each side. It broke our hearts telling our guests who had RSVP’d just a couple of weeks before the wedding that we had to downsize to just family. Something that I would never want to do again or wish that upon anyone.

But to be totally honest with you, I wouldn’t have asked for a bigger wedding. Why? It was so intimate sharing it with family, yet, we were able to live stream it on Facebook so EVERYONE could celebrate with us. We enjoyed our small wedding. When you hear couples say that a smaller wedding is perfect, they are right. Yes, a big wedding of our dreams would have been awesome, but after experiencing how intimate a smaller wedding was, WAS PERFECT.

In October of 2019 when Kane asked me to marry him, we didn’t expect COVID to happen, no one did. We were constantly planning a wedding on how it should be. No worries about anyone getting sick, social distancing, mask wearing, etc. Then when March rolled around, we all thought that this would last two weeks, not seven months and counting. Things took a huge turn.

I was lucky that I already had my dress picked out in November and it was ready by December/January. What we had to worry about was my bridesmaid dresses, Kane’s tux and the grooms’ tuxes. By the time the bridesmaids got their trial dresses in the mail, the warehouse shut down. Luckily the dresses came in on a timely manner and they were all the same color. PHEW! The tuxes worked out perfectly and the company was able to work with us. Thank goodness.

During this time, a lot of decisions were being made that we didn’t plan or want to have happened, many tears were shed, feelings were hurt but at the end of the day, everything turned out perfect. Not what we entirely wanted but the only thing that we wanted at the end of the day was that Kane and I were Mr. and Mrs. Michelsen for the rest of our lives. We had people there that we wanted and that were able to come, the whole day was beautiful including the weather (even though it was hot after the ceremony), we danced the night away, the food was amazing, and God was so good to us!

If you’re planning a wedding during a pandemic, remember to take a breather. It is extremely stressful but DON’T make it so stressful on yourself and your partner. I know many people who have postponed their wedding to next year, had a small ceremony and will have a bigger reception next year, who just went to the court house, who have just said F it and gotten married (but took precautions like what we did). Don’t let anyone talk to out of something that you don’t want to do. Make the best choice for you, your partner for the ones that you love. But also make the smart choice.

It is very stressful but at the end of the day, you’re married! That’s seriously fantastic!

Stay tuned for my next blog post on 10 Reasons Why Being Married is AWESOME!