Well my friends, sometimes it’s about making the most out of life’s bad situations. Hands down, last year was a complete and utter shit show. But instead of dwelling on the negativity we tried our best to make the best out of it. The pandemic forced a complete mindset shift on us, which we in turn applied to different aspects of our lives. That being said, we got married during the Covid pandemic. Right smack in the middle of the harshest Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns we had seen to date.
In hand with being under a province-wide lockdown there were many restrictions for wedding ceremonies. For one, the ceremony had to be outdoors. No easy feat in the middle of winter, especially when you live up north. So much for going to city hall and signing some papers like we had initially planned on doing. Although we were allowed to have up to 10 guests for our outdoor wedding ceremony, for the sake of everyone’s safety we opted to do it full on quarantine style with just the two of us.
Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been the kind to wait until everything is just right. But a great mentor once taught me that you can’t always wait for everything to be perfect as time waits for no one. Even though we were both out of work due to Covid and broke as hell, we decided 2020 would be the year we finally got married. And so on the 2020 winter solstice and the great conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, we finally tied the knot.
Having a wedding with no budget seemed problematic at first. But like I’ve mentioned before, even leading up to the pandemic I’d been on a spiritual awakening. If anything, this pandemic only solidified my newfound beliefs that materialistic things just aren’t that important in life. All those things I had previously stressed over like buying a dress, venue, a fancy wedding cake – none of that mattered anymore. Becoming married to my soul mate and the love of my life, that’s all that mattered.
The forest dweller bohemian bride look
Up until last year I’d always dreamed of spending hundreds of dollars on a lavish wedding dress. However, my fairytale-ish dream was simply unrealistic during a worldwide financial crisis and pandemic. So no wedding dress. The “venue” would be outdoors in a forest setting. I immediately got excited over a bohemian forest dweller bride theme that I had been toying with at the back of my mind over the last couple of years. Which actually made things really easy because all I had to do was raid my closet for the perfect boho maxi dress.
I kept the accessories rather simple by only wearing one piece of jewelry, a crescent moon necklace. And a beautifully handmade tiara I had purchased some years ago as the focal point of my bohemian bride motif.
Being December and all I opted for a blush pink faux fur shawl that I draped around myself for warmth. The other option was a coat but I didn’t like the idea of a coat obstructing most of my dress. In the end, we really did luck out because it ended up being 1°C that day (33°F for my American friends) and it wasn’t as cold as it had been days leading up to our wedding. The only downside was that most of the snow had melted. I had really wanted more of it in the photos as it was a winter wedding after all.
Our non-existent wedding budget
The only money we spent on our wedding (aside from the marriage license and ceremony fee) was on a wedding cake, bouquet and minimal decorations. I spent a whopping $120 in total for the cake, flowers and decorations. I purchased a dozen pink roses for my bridal bouquet and put it together the night before the wedding. As for the centerpieces and remaining decor: all fake flowers from the dollar store. Also put together by me the day before the wedding.
Honestly, our wedding day couldn’t have been more perfect. It was a magical moment in time we will both never forget. If any one of you are considering getting married during the Covid pandemic/lockdown – just do it. None of that other stuff matters – all that matters is saying ‘I do’ to your beloved.
