Bronte Bride is a local west-canadian wedding publication and resource dedicated to inspiration, education, & collaboration.
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A Little Bit of Rain and Covid Restrictions weren’t about to Slow This Couple Down!
Despite a myriad of Covid restrictions and the threat of rain, Kait and Cameron were nothing but smiles on their wedding day and Jalisse Photography captured evidence of their giddy newlywed bliss!
This Calgary wedding is packed with backyard wedding inspiration and personal details, like the bride’s hand-lettered jean jacket and the couple’s customized “wifey” and “hubby” face masks, to name a few. Following the ceremony and portraits, the couple met their guests for an intimate backyard reception, which included safe social distancing, hand sanitizer, and matching signage.
From the Couple:
What were your original wedding plans and how did they change?
Our original plan was to get married in July 2021, I had figured out who I wanted as my photographer, but hadn’t figured out a venue yet. Once Covid hit, a 2020 bride moved her date to the date I had in mind for 2021. So I took advantage of all the dates freeing up and moved our wedding up to 2020!
What was the planning process like for you?
Cam and I have been together for so long and we are used to being patient whether it be with a long distance relationship, to moving in together after 5 years, to finally getting engaged and now married. We realized the date we had chosen was so far away, and that we were ready regardless of the date to get married. That’s when we decided to move the date up. The bonus? – With the Covid small gathering restrictions we could finally have the intimate wedding we were hoping for! We had always wanted a small wedding with just our immediate family and closest friends but felt pressure to invite our extended family – but Covid gave us the perfect reason to keep it small and not hurt anyone’s feelings.
Do you have any advice for couples currently navigating planning their wedding during a pandemic?
At first you may feel guilty about downsizing your guest list for your wedding – but you shouldn’t. It was the best thing we could have done. Originally we were going to have all our aunts and uncles, cousins, and family friends. Of course it would be NICE to have them, but it was also making our guest list 2-3x more than what we ended up having. Even at 35 people, it seemed like there were a lot of people to talk to and visit with. All while trying to enjoy the day and take it all in. Downsizing our guest list was probably the best thing that Covid imposed on us. It made us be a bit more particular with who we invited, so we only had our nearest and dearest with us on our day!
What was your favourite moment of the day?
Our favourite moment of the day was our first look. It was just the two of us and Cam was waiting for me at the altar. We got to take the next few minutes to just be in love, and admire how good we both looked! It was one of the few moments of our day that was didn’t feel like it went by in a flash.
What was something you learned from your unique wedding planning experience?
I had stressed a lot about the weather, and how perfect our day needed to be. What I learnt was at the end of the day – my wedding day was PERFECT despite the rain and Covid keeping some of my relatives across seas and unable to attend. Those were no longer problems, rather they added to our perfect day. Rain? No problem – we had umbrellas, covid restricting the number of attendees? – we did the ceremony live on zoom for those who couldn’t attend! These little bumps in the road added all to the beautiful memories of our day!
From the Planners:
What was your favourite part of the day?
Our favourite part of the day was getting to watch the couple experience their special day and all the moments despite all the restrictions put in place with their closest family & friends.
What made this wedding special?
This wedding day was so special because the couple had their closest family & friends present on their actual wedding day making it so intimate and special for them. They wanted to include all of their other guests on the day-of by including a live stream in their plans for everyone to enjoy. They also chose to host a few other small gatherings on other days throughout the rest of the month so everyone was still included and able to celebrate with them in person but still able to maintain social distancing rules and be safe. This had the extra perk of allowing the bride & groom to get all dressed up again in their wedding attire and enjoy their wedding and special memories all over again!
Do you have any advice for couples having to postpone, or having to downsize their wedding?
Our advice for any couple having to postpone or downsize their wedding is to just embrace the unexpected and roll with the changes. There are always special and unique moments that come from having to pivot your wedding plans that you may not have expected with veering from the traditional wedding plans. Your day will be so special and forever remembered for so many reasons regardless if it is your original or a new plan!
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