Quarantine Wedding 2020
Written by Annie Do, RPN
Like everyone else planning to be married in 2020, COVID-19 threw us for a massive loop. Our original date was June 13, and a year’s worth of planning was completely sabotaged by the global pandemic.
We had switched our date to June 15, only to have Mississauga City Hall resume issuing marriage licenses just a week before our new date. This left us only seven days to plan all over again.
In our case, we waited until we had our license in hand to book our wedding officiant, Mary. We found her originally on Wedding Wire. I must admit, this was a cost I hadn’t anticipated. At a range of $250 to $600 for a wedding officiant it’s not the most pleasant surprise for a small wedding on a tight budget.
Nevertheless, we carried on planning our new normal – our backyard wedding. No more rustic golf course wedding for 150, instead a backyard micro wedding for 15. Honestly, the smaller guest count was a total plus in our books. Neither Mark or I love to be the centre of attention.
Obviously with this smaller guest count and hosting at home, we saved a ton of money. The new setting was intimate, and we were able to talk to everyone. With a larger guest count, I was worried about the time constraints of spending quality time with each guest.
We created a ton of DIY wedding décor projects for our wedding at home. I highly recommend hunting Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, and Dollarama!
“At the end of it all, Mark and I would do a backyard wedding again. While it wasn’t at all what we had originally planned, it felt perfect. Quality versus quantity!”
We opted for shot glasses as our wedding favours. And printed our invitations on canvas, locally at Staples.
I debated for weeks what to do about my wedding day wardrobe. I couldn’t decide whether to wear my wedding gown or save it, and opt for something simpler for our backyard wedding. I had previously purchased my gown from The Bride’s Project, a not-for-profit organization. Bride’s donate their dresses to the boutique, and a portion of the resale is donated to support women’s shelters and cancer charities.
In the end, I opted for a simpler dress from Aritzia, and Mark wore a suit from Zara.
We also exchanged gifts on our wedding day. I gave Mark a beer mug and flask, and he gifted me a matching wallet and wine glass.
Like I mentioned, unfortunately, public heath limited our group size. We decided it was best to follow the recommendations, sticking to 15 guests. The rest of our friends and family, including the Monaco bunch, were able to watch the ceremony on Zoom.
The meal was our favourite part! No more pressure to go with the preset menu at our old venue. We could choose exactly what we wanted. Since Filipinos traditionally opt for party tray food, buffet style was a perfect option.
We wanted to support our local restaurants and share all of our faves with guests so we opted for Federick’s Hakka Chinese, Samosa King, and Ichiban Sushi.
We kept music simple, with a nod to our favourite video game, our first dance song was Don’t Think Twice by Hikaru Utada.
Rather than splurging on photography for our small backyard wedding, we had guests share all of their smartphone pictures with us by messenger and Airdrop.
At the end of it all, Mark and I would do a backyard wedding again. While it wasn’t at all what we had originally planned, it felt perfect. Quality versus quantity! We had our core supports there, and that was all we really needed.
Pandemic or no pandemic, we knew we would tie the knot regardless. We totally believe that everything happens for a reason. Or as Owen would say, “It’s all about timing”.