Dream Weddings Go Local

BY BEVERLY BRETON CARROLL

There’s no stopping love. World-wide pandemic or not, we are living love with our family, friends, and community. We are taking care of ourselves and helping others in whatever ways that we can. We might be staying local and keeping six feet apart, but we’re grabbing those lemons, making lemonade, and embracing the surprising sweetnesses of this time.

And there’s no stopping weddings. Because we are falling in love! Although family gatherings may look different this year, the winter holiday season remains a perfect time to get engaged, share the news, and start planning the wedding day.

©Jenny Edwards Photography

Social gatherings are a whole new universe. With no true sense of when life may get back to the way we knew it, there may be limits on travel, size, or venue, but there are no limits on creativity. And, happily, we live in one of the most beautiful – and creative – places in the world. Area couples are rising to the challenge, discovering everything this area has to offer, and planning micro weddings and minimonies to treasure for a lifetime.

Jennifer Eaton, owner of locally-owned Copper Penny Flowers floral and event boutique, remembers the first bride that had to rework all her wedding plans because of the pandemic. “At the last minute, we had to change our pre-wedding appointment to Zoom which meant I had to scramble to figure out how to meet with the bride using my computer. I put the sample centerpiece we had made for her wedding—a blush and burgundy design with peonies and lisianthus—in front of my computer screen, and the bride burst into tears! I think she already realized she couldn’t do the wedding as she’d planned. Within four days, her original wedding was cancelled.” But the story didn’t end there. The bride scaled back and celebrated a once-in-a-lifetime event at her original location, a nearby historic mansion. There may have been fewer than two dozen guests, all socially distanced, but her wedding was as magical as she had hoped. A highlight? “The most gorgeous flowers I’ve ever seen at my ceremony-only wedding!”

©Family photo

Another 2020 bride and groom who were married at a family member’s property in Carlisle included a birch arbor festooned with blooms for their ceremony and posed for photos with the chickens. A highlight? Drinks served on ice in a canoe!

A local engaged couple who aren’t so local anymore—they are both active military serving in Hawaii—were highly motivated to create a new event plan. Unable to change the date due to family commitments, they discovered the family backyard could be transformed to host their wedding in style. And with the outdoor venue, they could still have a number of family and friends join them. 2020 didn’t stop these heroes. A highlight? They became Mr. and Mrs. right on schedule!

©ColeandKieraPhotography

We may be planning smaller, socially distanced events for some time to come. So before planning your dream wedding consider a few important questions. Will this be the only ceremony? Will the bride wear her wedding dress? Will there be a bridal party? Who will attend? What venue is feasible with unpredictable or tighter time frames?

Then dance outside any traditional wedding boxes and plan this personally unique day. At a farm where goats can pad the guest list? The outdoor patio at a favorite restaurant? In the garden at an area mansion or historic inn? By the river or in a park? Or why not that backyard?

©Aleksandr Verbetsky Photography

Add box lunches, a food truck, a cookout, or a formal catered meal. Order a mini wedding cake, make s’mores, or walk guests down the street to the local ice cream stand.

©Aleksandr Verbetsky Photography

What? What was that about not being able to plan the wedding of your dreams? There’s no stopping love. And there’s no stopping creating a dream wedding in our beautiful piece of the world.

©Metzger Studios

Beverly Breton Carroll has written for numerous regional and national newspapers and magazines, specializing in travel and lifestyle articles. She is happily embracing her 24th year of living in New England.