When I first chatted with Sam about what her non-negotiables were when it came to their wedding day she knew she just wanted to marry the man of her dreams, but she thought it needed to be in peony season since peonies were her favourite flower, and she also thought she needed to have 50-100 people there to celebrate.
Let me tell you the things that happened to this poor couple when Covid threw a loop in their plans.
- Their venue cancelled on them. That’s right, they decided it was the best thing for their business to just shut down for the year – it didn’t matter if they wanted 10 people, or 50 people, it was a no go. So with 1 month to go before their original wedding date we had to now scramble to find a place that could host them (don’t worry I knew of the perfect place to bring their vision to life).
- We were in a lockdown during their original wedding date. This happened to a lot of people, and so a date that meant a lot to them came and went and they were forced to choose a new date. They made the most of it though by having a special night in to celebrate their would-have-been wedding day and spoiler alert I know everything worked out better than they had originally hoped for.
- They had to cut their guests. After moving their date from June to August because of the lockdown we were planning for worst case scenario with restrictions being that they could only have 20 people. Because of the concerns and the restrictions this also meant that grandparents might not be able to make it. They managed to pull together a list of people for a 20 person al fresco dinner in a field and I could finally see her starting to get excited again.
Then magic happened. Restrictions opened up a bit and that 20 person dinner was “technically” allowed 100 people outdoors. They knew they wanted to keep their family and friends safe and opted to increase their list from 20 to 50 people. And we were able to safely have the grandparents there for the ceremony. Honestly I could cry all over again just thinking about it.
Having a new space, a smaller guest list, and a social distancing challenge, meant that I got to be extra creative with bringing this vision to life. Their original wedding was supposed to happen in a barn and had lots of beautiful rustic touches, so my goal was to take that & elevate everyone experience to make sure people felt safe while also were able to enjoy themselves and really celebrate this couple who had been through so much.
We brought to life a lush, 3D floral arbour with the help of Laurie & Nemo from Art in Bloem. It was so stunning. After the ceremony we were able to take the back pieces and move them over to the tent beside the bar & the photo wall, leaving the main structure there for guests to use as a photo backdrop.
Our reception in the field went off without a hitch. With a floating chandelier install designed & built in house (shout out to my father in law & husband), harvest tables set up in a horseshoe to allow for distance and intimacy, and tons of candles. I love how rustic chic everything turned out, and seriously dining in that field when the sun was setting was pretty epic.
Things that happened last minute
- we couldn’t get the generator to start (and it was controlling all the lights in the tent)
- we ran out of propane which was powering the generator
- guests came and grabbed a chair at the ceremony and moved it to their own spot (in the shade) meaning that by the time the processional started there wasn’t a “traditional” aisle
- there were grasshoppers everywhere haha
But we managed to figure everything out, Sam & Ty got their fairytale wedding, and I am so grateful & happy to have been part of it.
Magic Makers
Styling/Planning by SB Creative Studio
Photography Snowy River Images
Florals Art in Bloem
Hair & Makeup JK Glam
Bridal Gown Ceremony Bridal Studio
Tables & Chairs Westway Tents
Stationery, Backdrops, Lighting, Decor from SB Creative Studio