Weddings: How We Celebrate Now

HOW WE CELEBRATE NOW

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HEART OF NC WEDDINGS MAGAZINE PUBLISHER SHARES HER PERSPECTIVE ON THE NEW WORLD OF WEDDINGS

BY JENNA PARKS

It’s easy to overlook that celebrations are a huge part of life … until they are absent. Birthdays, holidays, graduations and myriad monumental occasions are made into memories by virtue of people coming together to intentionally honor that moment. As the pandemic steamrolled our society last year, so began months of neartotal isolation. Our life milestones

Kevin GomezGonzalez and Julia Perniciaro at The Parlour at Manns Chapel.

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Fearrington Village had many of its couples reschedule this year or opt for micro wedding ceremonies on their original date with larger postponed receptions. Jonathan Bitner and William Hoye luckily were wed prepandemic in September 2019.

gradually became irrelevant, and, dare I say it, melancholy. Just like that, the joyous world of weddings came to a screeching halt.

Well, we’re better off calling it a pause. Couples and vendors worked together to reschedule their plans (and then reschedule again, and again). Some couples deconstructed and reassembled smaller versions of the originally planned event. In the end, how we celebrate now reflects what we learned from this entire experience.

What follows is my list of the top five impacts from COVID-19 in the world of weddings, all of which I believe will stick around for the near future.

NO. 1 CEREMONY-CENTRIC WEDDINGS We went back to wedding basics this year: the ceremony took center stage. Couples with wedding dates that fell during the first several months of the pandemic were faced with the question: What’s more important – getting married or having a party? Many determined couples embraced the smaller-thanplanned wedding at whatever number of guests were allowed under pandemic guidelines. That meant a trip to the courthouse for some, and a backyard ceremony and family dinner for others. And something amazing happened. Those couples who hosted micro weddings absolutely loved them. The devotion that led these couples to the altar resulted in a newfound appreciation for what their wedding was really about. As an added bonus, they spent ample time with each of the select few family and friends who shared their moment.

That’s not to say there isn’t a huge value to throwing down with hundreds of guests, dancing the night away in jubilee over the momentous occasion of two souls becoming one. Many couples decided to have the best of both worlds. The biggest trend we saw soar in popularity during the pandemic is the two-event game plan: a micro wedding or elopement on the original wedding date, followed by a larger party, which would include extended friends and families, scheduled for the hopeful post-COVID era. Some couples bill this second event as the wedding itself and plan to re-enact their ceremony, while others plan to use this party as the reception or even a first anniversary party. We foresee this being a trend for many years to come.

NO. 2 ALL ABOUT THE CORE CREW In a time of forced micro weddings, betrothed folks learned how to refine their wedding guest counts. Some important

lessons came from this exercise. Couples finally had the excuse to tell their parents that some of their posse didn’t make the cut. Plus-ones were no longer assumed. Unwanted coworkers got the chopping block, and no one took offense.

Don’t get us wrong. We believe one of the most beautiful things about weddings is that all of the couple’s loved ones are able to witness and celebrate together. But the shedding of those peripheral folks – the ones who aren’t likely to be a part of your lives together in marriage – is a freedom that’s going to be remembered.

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NO. 3 ENTERTAINMENT PRIORITIES With smaller guest counts and often with smaller budgets, couples had no choice but to reconsider the allocation of funds. This helped couples learn how to identify their entertainment priorities.

I don’t mean to imply that “cheapening” the wedding day is a trend. In fact, it’s the opposite. But with fewer attendees, couples can lavish their nearest and dearest with higher per-person costs and still save money. Imagine this: over-the-top florals, five-course meals with wine pairings or personalized

Wendell JeanJules and Tolu Jean-Jules exchanged vows in August at an outdoor wedding ceremony at The Bradford in New Hill.

favors. A videographer or custom lounge no longer seems like an out-of-range splurge. Couples can spoil themselves, too – perhaps spring for exquisite wedding jewelry, a custom suit or that couture gown they want memorialized in their wedding portraits.

NO. 4 A NEW LEVEL OF RESPECT For the betterment of all, we’ve come out of this era with a new level of respect for one another. We were challenged to wear masks during ceremonies and meal services, to group togethers in pods, to use hand sanitizer, to give one another space in the Couples with wedding PHOTO BY HEBA SALAMA PHOTOGRAPHY bathrooms, to refrain from intermingling and even from dates that fell during the first several school, to dating ... and even to weddings. Virtual elements dancing. Yes, it was hard. months of are certainly transforming But the reason was simple: to the pandemic were faced how we celebrate. It’s no protect one another. with the strange thing for Grandma

The idea of looking out for question: What’s more and Grandpa to watch a one another’s best interests is important livestream of the ceremony going to carry into the future – getting married or from home. That’s a beautiful of weddings. Safety protocols having a thing. But in the end, there’s will linger for years. And in party? nothing like locking eyes the world of weddings, this with a parade of people from applies both to our guests, your life as you walk down who are taking a risk to the aisle after you’re declared attend your celebration, as married. And there’s no digital well as with our vendors, who replacement for embracing are taking a risk to serve you. your favorite aunt, posing in a photo booth with your college NO. 5 ZOOM JUST roommates, toasting with ISN’T THE SAME your new in-laws and dancing At the beginning of the pandemic, I feared the night away under flashing lights in a that we’d all rapidly get accustomed to crowd of people, all there to celebrate your doing everything virtually, from work, to new life together! CM

With fewer attendees, couples can lavish their guests with higher perperson costs – say, splurging on florals and a five-course meal – and still save money.

Kimmy & Leviner BY SARAH ROLLINS PHOTO BY CHASITY CHEN, CHASITYCHENPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Pittsboro natives Amber Leviner and Wyatt Kimmy met while attending Northwood High School in 2012 during their freshman and senior years, respectively. But it wasn’t until 2019, when they reconnected over social media, that the pair started dating.

Nearly one year later, in May 2020, Wyatt took Amber to Jordan Lake for what she thought was a normal afternoon of fishing together with a few friends. “Little did I know, he had all of our friends and family out there on boats,” Amber says. “He planned an engagement that you would see in a movie.” They pulled into a cove, and Amber saw about 15 boats packed with all the important people in her life. When she turned around to ask Wyatt what was going on, he was on one knee, asking that very important question. “Obviously, I said ‘yes,’” Amber says. “I was beyond surprised.”

The couple plans to wed on May 15, 2021, beside the pond at their Pittsboro residence, with a reception to follow.

Wyatt co-owns Wood Kraft Construction with his dad, Ron Kimmy, and Amber is a medical assistant at UNC Health. CM

CHATHAM COUNTY TURNS US ON!

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Glosson & Griffin BY ELLEN HARDISON PHOTOGRAPHY BY CARLY FOGLEMAN, CARLYFOGLEMANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Candice Glosson and Cody Griffin vaguely knew each other when they attended Northwood High School but didn’t officially meet until a “spur of the moment” cruise with mutual friends to the Bahamas after they graduated. Looking back on the trip, Candice can’t help but think it was fate. “The best things in life are definitely those you do not plan, we can attest to that,” she says.

Cody, a graduate of Central Carolina Community College Fire Academy, is a local firefighter at Pittsboro Fire-Rescue, and Candice, a graduate of UNCGreensboro, is a registered nurse at WakeMed’s emergency department. “A firefighter and a nurse make for quite the love story,” Candice says.

They went to look at rings together, but Cody ultimately decided on the final one. He held on to the ring for six months before proposing to Candice on a trip to Wilmington. Cody crafted a handwritten note that said, “Will you marry me?” and hid it in a bouquet of roses. Once Candice found the note, he asked her to turn around, where he was down on one knee with the ring. “Well, will you?” he asked. Candice said yes, calling it the “easiest answer of her life.”

The couple married on Sept. 19, 2020, at the Rigmor House. In attendance were Cody’s parents, Debbie Griffin and Daryl Griffin, who acted as Cody’s best man and is also Pittsboro Fire-Rescue’s fire chief; Linda Glosson, Candice’s mom; and Candice’s brother, Joshua Glosson, who walked her down the aisle. She says that anyone who knows her family knows how meaningful this was to her. Joshua was born with a rare chromosomal disorder called Pfeiffer syndrome, and ultimately inspired her career in nursing. “My brother is seriously my everything,” she says.

KJ Eddins catered the wedding, and the rehearsal dinner was prepared by Bill Hall of BH43 BBQ Sauces & Smoke. Pittsboro native Bobby Gerringer DJed at the reception. Wedding planners Tina Skinner and Tara Honeycutt handmade the decorations for the venue. Guests enjoyed treats from Nothing Bundt Cakes and a dessert bar with family favorites that the couple grew up with – from Cody’s grandmother’s key lime cake to Candice’s uncle Joe McMasters’ honey bun cake. The wedding was everything they “ever dreamed of,” Candice says. “The venue, the people, the decorations, the food. Simply bliss.”

The couple plans to reside in Pittsboro. CM