Elyse and Alex’s Wedding Day Pros

PREMIER HEARTLAND WEDDING IDEAS VENDOR: Photographer Kara Vorwald Photography

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Q: Did you think about canceling your wedding due to the pandemic?

A: Yes, we did. As the coronavirus started becoming a concern, the safety and health of our family and friends were foremost in our minds. In late March, we decided to postpone our wedding and left the decision of whether to have a ceremony until the date (May 23) got closer. Ultimately we decided to have a very small ceremony and will have a celebration/reception with everyone else sometime in the future.

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Q: Did you have to make changes to your original plans? If so, what did you do differently?

A: We postponed our wedding, which was originally supposed to be around 90 guests at the Hickory Hills Lakeview lodge. We decided in early May that we wanted to go forward with the wedding ceremony on our original date, but to limit it to our immediate families and a couple of very close friends. We held the ceremony at a Black Hawk county park shelter where everyone was able to spread out a bit and then went to Alex’s parents’ backyard for a small celebration. We set up a no-contact pickup to get our cake and made dinner ourselves (with some help from the neighbors). We’re still hoping to have a larger celebration, once we know that it won’t be putting anyone at risk.

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Q: Why did you decide not to delay your wedding?

A: We were both so excited to get married, and postponing everything would have been frustrating. Besides, Elyse’s sister lives in Australia and was preparing to go back in June – it was important to us that she was part of the wedding. Our families had all been practicing preventative measures (social distancing, wearing face masks, etc.) and everyone agreed that they felt comfortable having a small gathering. We drove to Iowa from Silver Spring to avoid the possibility of catching coronavirus at the airport, which also allowed us to bring our dog.