PANDEMIC WEDDING POSTPONEMENT
The pandemic wedding postponement will always define this time in my career. When Yvette and Aaron emailed me that their May wedding would have to be postponed due to the Covid 19 quarantine, I was devastated. Not because I was losing another wedding, but because I was RIDICULOUSLY excited about theirs.
HOW WE CONNECTED
We met the couple at the Love Sick Expo. We had a giveaway for free engagement shoots and I was thrilled when they won. They even found an engagement shoot location that I hadn’t been to before, The Glen Foerd. It’s a beautiful location that I continue to use. We discovered we had also photographed a good friend of Yvette’s wedding at the Penn Museum of Archeology and it was one of our favorites. I was thrilled with the engagement shoot, which you can check out here.
The next wedding expo we did was at one of our very favorite venues, the Historic Aldie Mansion. We’ve photographed some gorgeous weddings there, so I was thrilled when the two walked in to check it out for their wedding. They ended up booking the venue and us. Yvette and I got Facebook friendly and when she sent me photos of her dress, I was pretty sure I’d died and gone to wedding photographer heaven. It was EVERYTHING. And I’m not going to tell you anything about it because I WILL still photograph her in that dress, even if it’s a year away.
A GLOBAL PANDEMIC STRIKES
The Covid-19 virus struck globally and Philadelphia was quarantined. Pandemic wedding postponement affected approximately 45 of our clients, some up to two years away. It was dizzying and scary and awful. I felt like I was in free fall with no net or ground in sight. (Still looking for that net, btw)
THE BRILLIANT SOLUTION
Not a couple to let anything stop their love, the two had a brillant idea. Yvette made a facebook post that she and Aaron would be doing a Vow Exchange ceremony on Race Street Pier on FaceBook Live for all their friends to see. I’m pretty sure I BEGGED them to let me come take photos. We found a spot with the bridge in the background where Aaron could set up his phone for the live shot and we could stay socially distanced from others. We wore our masks, and they did too, except for the actual ceremony.
They shared vows and readings as a crowd gathered to watch. Strangers applauded and cheered during their kiss as if they were invited guests. It felt as though everyone was craving seeing genuine connection as much as I was. Their vow exchange was something extraordinary and beautiful in the midst of utter chaos and uncertainty. At the end of the day, the newlyweds invited all of their quarantined wedding guests to post their “reception meal” photos from the homes which was a wonderful way to end the day. I can’t wait for their big wedding with all their friends, but this was an afternoon I will truly never forget.
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