Talk about a couple who showed COVID who’s boss! Nicole and Alex planned an intimate, socially-distanced, micro-wedding in Alex’s parents’ front yard. They DIY’d their ceremony backdrop with hanging paper circles and florals from Blooms by the Box, rocked their BHLDN dress and tux, and even drove to their original wedding venue to walk the grounds after their convertible exit. For the family members that couldn’t make it, they zoomed in and shared in the celebration of the newlyweds. While it wasn’t these Virginia native’s planned day, it reflected the pure love and beauty between each other and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
How did you meet?
We met through a mutual friend who went to architecture school with me and went to high school with him. We were introduced in 2012, and after four years of casually seeing each other around, our friend invited us to a Valentine’s singles dinner at a local Ethiopian restaurant. We hit it off, and the rest is history!
Tell us a little a bit about your wedding (your vision, color, style, and location choices).
We had originally planned to get married in a big celebration on June 6, and then in March, when Covid-19 got bad, we rescheduled to October. But amidst ongoing concerns about the wedding and anxiety about getting married already, we about-faced and decided to do a small socially distant wedding in Alex’s parent’s front yard–2 weeks ahead of our date! It was intimate and mostly hand-made and had all the feels!
Tell us about your attire choices.
I think our theme became “make do with what you’ve got”. I already had my dress but drove an hour to the nearest reopen county to get it altered in a week. Alex wore a suit he had. I watched countless YouTube tutorials on how to apply fake eyelashes.
What was the most important to the two of you while planning? Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?
While it wasn’t the big wedding we had envisioned, it was perfect and felt perfectly fit to who we are as a couple. To anyone facing a Covid-pivot, just do it! You won’t regret it.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
Alex’s dad decided to rent us a convertible to make our exit. We ended up driving over to our original wedding venue to walk the grounds (it was a city park with a historic house). People picnicking close by applauded, and we got a few moments alone just the two of us to think about what we had accomplished.
Please describe any DIY, handmade, or personal details.
We DIY’d the flower installation, but used a florist for the bouquet and boutonniere. We reused the table decor to mark out spots in the yard for our friends to stand 6′ apart. I had made a backdrop installation using old paint chip samples (I am an architect and my office was throwing them away!)and figured out how to make it the centerpiece of the wedding. Alex and his parents cooked our dinner. His mom made the cake. We zoomed in my Dad. Everything we couldn’t make was borrowed or improvised!
Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?
You don’t need a big fancy event to still feel loved. I was worried that our pivot would feel like a watered-down version of a wedding. Instead, it truly highlighted the wonderful community around us, as friends and family pitched in to pull the whole thing together. We both felt so loved and supported.