The unknown of this COVID crisis and the isolation of quarantine feel heavy and daunting to me most days. But there is still so much joy and life happening around us. As weddings and graduations are postponed I love the stories of those that have gotten created, or stripped their celebrations down to only the most sacred parts. And today I wanted to bring you one of those stories.

The week before my wedding my dad was tracking the weather (which is a thing he does), he mentioned a chance of rain. But quickly followed it with, “Not that it really matters. The only important thing is that you end Saturday married”.

Three weeks ago as Georgia began to prepare for closures with the rise of COVID19 I told my best friend the exact same thing. There would be venue closures and friends that would be unable to attend her wedding. But the one thing that actually mattered was ending her wedding day with her boyfriend as her husband.

And that is just what she did.

As the state began banning group gatherings and the details and plans she spent months creating began to shift Mandie and Christopher made the decision not to let the joy be taken from their wedding weekend. Instead, in a matter of minutes a new sunset wedding was planned. With a view of the farm Mandie grew up on in the background and their families standing witness at their sides, Mandie and Christopher shared vows and entered into this “new normal” we are facing as husband and wife.

It was a perfect wedding. And while I have struggled to find the exact right words to describe the weekend, the portrait below stopped me in my scroll. It is everything I want to say in one image. With a bouquet created from flowers Christopher sent earlier in the week proclaiming his excitement for their marriage, hair and makeup hastily pulled together by friends, and their family standing in the background- this is a wedding stripped to its bones. Only the most important elements are present but the smiles are still contagious and the joy was palpable.

Mandie, Christopher, and G- I am thrilled for your new life together! It was a wedding none of us will soon forget and I am so honored to have had the opportunity to spend it with you! Love you all!