Annastasia and Josh - Planning a wedding during Covid
Change of plans
Planning your wedding during a pandemic can be extremely worrying and stressful with restrictions constantly changing. That’s exactly how Annastasia and Josh felt with the ever changing guidelines and restrictions here in Northern Ireland.
Their wedding of 180 guests at the stunning Lusty Beg Island became a micro wedding of 25 guests for a church ceremony, where all guests except the bride and groom wore masks followed by a catered meal delivered to a self catering house just for their bridal party and immediate family as hotels were closed and they weren’t allowed a reception.
The added stress
This was such a stressful time for A&J. They were constantly watching the news and checking the news apps for weeks before their wedding. These restrictions came into effect just 2 weeks before they were due to get married. Annastasia also contracted Covid-19 with her isolation ending just 1 week before the wedding, adding to the stress.
“I got Covid myself which was added stress as my isolation ended a week before the wedding. A lot of people mentioned to us about postponing but I knew for us the right thing was to go ahead and get married. I also didn’t think I could deal with any more time waiting and any more uncertainty about how the day would be. From the day before the wedding, the stress had left me. I was so excited and so ready to get married! My sisters and I still got to spend time together the night before and do normal bridesmaid things. In the morning I originally felt really relaxed. We got a breakfast box delivered from HoneyBee Bakery and we had music on and bucksfizz and we had so much fun getting ready! We even attempted to make a tick tok but ended up being to rushed to finish it. Just about an hour before we left I started to get REALLY nervous; but excited nerves, just with the reality that it was ACTUALLY happening”
The most perfect day
From the morning, right through, everything went perfectly. I found myself completely overwhelmed with emotion as I travelled through this journey with Anna and Josh and they were finally getting married.
Anna’s Step-Dad drove her to the church in a Morris Minor. The whole village and a lot of Annastasia and Josh’s friends and family lined the streets to wish them all the best as they headed in to the church.
“Our wedding was honestly perfect. The service was so lovely. It was so personal to us and we were able to sing which meant a lot to both of us. We sang worship songs that meant a lot to us as a couple and it was so nice. Then we were able to greet and chat to friends outside the church, so many people had gathered outside to watch which was so nice and special.”
The rest of the Day
Anastasia and Josh’s priority after the ceremony was to go to Josh’s Granda’s house from some socially distanced photos with him as he couldn’t attend the ceremony. This meant so much to them and was such a special moment.
On our way to Josh’s Granda’s, we stopped off at Spelga Dam for a few portraits.
After we spent some time with Josh’s Granda, we then headed to Tullymurry house which is a beautiful self catering house that you can rent.
“We had hired the house for the few days and we had outside caterers deliver us a three course meal which our dads served to us, just the bridal party which was our immediate family. This was so special. We still did our first dance, outside with sparklers as it turned dark and we still did speeches after our meal. We drank wine we chatted and it was all so relaxed.”
Would you change anything about how your wedding turned out?
“Would we change anything? Honestly my first answer is a definite no. It was so perfect, so intimate and emotional and so personal and relaxed. The only thing we would change was we wish we could of had a few more special people there with us ! Oh and it would of been great if our guests didn’t have to wear masks!”
Focus on the outcome - Marrying your Love
If you are planning your wedding, the main advice I would give to you is to focus on the outcome. At the end of it all, you will be married and no matter what you face trying to plan your wedding, it will all be worth it.
Love always wins!
Each of my couples who got married in 2020 had the best day of their lives and wouldn’t change their day for the world.
Here’s what Annastasia had to say
“It was totally worth the stress! We are so glad we went ahead and got married and our day was so perfect for us. It really made all the stress and worrying worth it.
Some advice for couples facing the same thing;
What we decided might not be the right decision for everyone and I get that, but your wedding day and the point of marriage is totally about you and your partner and that’s what you need to think about when your deciding what to do. On the day of the wedding someone made a comment that the church felt so empty but I honestly didn’t even realise, as soon as I began to walk down the aisle all I saw was Josh and I was just so excited to be his wife. Don’t worry about anyone except you two; and on another note, we will get to have a big party at some stage with everyone who couldn’t come to the wedding so you will get to wear your dress/suit twice!”
Win Win situation!
Thank you so much to Anna and Josh who took the time to answer my questions so perfectly.
I’m so sad that their wedding is over, the friendship we have now made is definitely something I will cherish forever!
“From the bottom of our heart we would like to thank Karen for all the work she did with us. From the engagement shoot we built a friendship with her and she was able to capture the most intimate special moments on our wedding day. We are so thankful for her and how at ease she made not only us, but our whole family feel! She managed to capture the day perfectly and we honestly were as happy as we looked in the pictures.”
Dress Adrianna Papell from Divinity Bridal
Suits Freddie Hatchet
Shoes Dune
Bridesmaid Dresses ASOS
Flowers Groom’s Auntie
Self Catering Venue Tullymurry House