Like many others back in early 2020, Patrick and I were busy planning our wedding. Friends and family had booked their flights, my dress was picked out, the venue was booked, the wine was chosen and we were looking forward to celebrating with all our guests in Chicago in July 2020. Well, we all know how all those 2020 weddings went… Needless to say, we postponed. And postponed again. Travel into the United States is still very complicated so it looked like the wedding would never happen.
In reality, both Patrick and I, though disappointed, had perspective. No one, and I mean NO ONE, needed to hear about a party being cancelled when there was so much horror going on in the pandemic (and indeed, still is). So, life carried on as before and the dress got shoved to the back of the cupboard.
Then a few weeks ago, as we walked the dog, the conversation turned to getting married. We both realised that what we really wanted wasn’t so much a wedding (though obvs that would have been nice!) but to be married to one another. We’d both been thinking the same for a while and had a “screw it” moment. We knew both our families would support whatever we chose and luckily for us, Patrick’s brother is a pastor, so would be able to marry us with minimal notice.
A date was set for the following weekend, Zoom links were sent out and I dug up a Zara outfit I had initially had in mind for the rehearsal dinner. The vibe in my head was very much Carrie marrying Big before Vogue got involved and put the bird on her head.
The day came and we got some flowers for our living room (and for Henry our dog, naturally) and shoved the sofa to one side.
It was wonderful. My brother-in-law Chris performed a very touching ceremony, my Dad said a few words over Zoom and we repeated our vows to each other in front of the people we love. Turns out, that’s really all you need.
