Our Wedding Story

Since Tony works in education, naturally we wanted a summer wedding because he would be off of work for a honeymoon + we would have perfect weather for a dreamy, outdoor, bohemian-style wedding 😍 So weeks after being engaged we found the perfect hotel, I said yes to the dress, we took our engagement photos & before we could even send our invitations— COVID-19.

We spent weeks in limbo:  “Do we wait it out?” “It’s only March, we’ll be clear by July, right!?” Wrong. We eventually decided to cancel the wedding & told folks to stay tuned for “if” we were going to do anything at all. We even talked about waiting to get married. 

We were heartbroken. Not in a celebratory mood. And most of, concerned about everyone’s safety. BUT God’s plan > our plan. ALWAYS.

Inspired by Elaine Welteroths’s GORGEOUS COVID Wedding, & with encouragement meant from my fellow newlywed sis Jade Godbolt (formerly known as LipstickNCurls), we told everyone it was back on! 🎉 Sent out our invites using a private YouTube video to our loved ones + a series of beautiful Flodesk emails and told everyone to meet us on Zoom!

Because magic is weaved all throughout our love story (more on that later), it was important to me that it was also present on our #wedding day ✨ I wanted it to feel as dreamy as possible, for the both of us.

My bridal party hosted a surprise, drive through bridal shower. I ordered new dresses (shoutout to ASOS Wedding). Tony’s parents bought us a gorgeous balloon arch (pictured above).

I got my hair & makeup (safely) done by someone who has been in my life for over a decade.

My parents came to town. I hired a (virtual) photographer. A few of our family members were present in our apartment. My pastor (who helped raise me) married us. My parents bought us a beautiful cake & a five star dinner. We had lots of champagne. We wore matching #AirMaxes to dinner

There was a wedding night playlist 😏

It is still hard to describe in words how extravagant the entire weekend was. It felt like we were floating. Over 100 of our friends & family watching our big moment, no WiFi issues. Almost everyone in tears over Tony’s what seemed like professionally written vows 😂 Beautiful speeches from people we love. It was tew entirely, in the best way (insert Kim Kardashian crying GIF).

Since then, we have heard that it was the most beautiful and emotional wedding that some people had ever “attended”!!! WHAT?! Our last minute Zoom wedding? Wow.

The entire experience of moving our wedding to Zoom taught me one thing: that love is the most essential part of a wedding day. Not all the other things that magazines, TV shows and social media convince us of are important. Being in tune with the one you love and being surrounded by the people who love you is what makes the day magical, regardless of if you’re in your living room, a beautiful church or on the beach. 

Over a  year later, I still wouldn’t have wanted to do our wedding day any other way. Thank you, God.