It hasn’t been an easy year for COVID Brides, and when you’re stuck in the weeds of rescheduling and vendor contracts it can be tough to imagine an alternative celebration. There are a handful of different approaches a couple can take when it comes to their special day this year, but one thing is certain: it is your choice, and you’re entitled to feel good about any direction you choose to go in!

Two of our #realMDbrides went through with their weddings this year in two totally different ways, so we wanted to share their testimonials with you! We hope this sparks a little inspiration, solidarity, and maybe even a little hope for our struggling brides!

ALLY & EVAN - 5/2/2020

“Evan and I decided to have a small ceremony, with just our immediate family,  (and our pup!) once our wedding at Willowdale Estate was postponed until May 2021. 

I CAN HONESTLY SAY IT WAS INTIMATE AND MAGICAL, DESPITE EVERYTHING GOING ON AROUND US.  

We got married at his parents house on the Cape and the weather was perfect (thankfully!). We set up folding chairs and distanced them in the yard.  We built our own ceremony arbor and hung up string lights.  Evan's neighbor so happens to be our DJ , so he was able to play our ceremony music - which was incredibly important to us as the song was a tribute to Evan's dad. Luckily our officiant was Evan's cousin and our close friend and having a small group allowed us to really appreciate his speech. After the ceremony, we raised a glass with a bottle of champagne we got on the day we got engaged.  We bought takeout and whoopie pies for dessert from a local restaurant and was able to space out our tables and group everyone by their "quarantined family".  

My now mother in law surprised us with a local photographer to capture our magical day. We also had a surprise wedding car parade from Evan's family which truly melted my heart as many of them had to travel over an hour.  The night ended with our siblings laughing around a fire pit making s'mores.  

We were devastated when our wedding was postponed, but we still wanted to marry each other.  Our small ceremony was absolutely perfect and now I get the best of both worlds - small intimate ceremony and a big reception (with my Madeleine's Daughter dress!) right around our one year anniversary. “

BRIANNA & PATRICK - 5/30/2020

“We still got married on our original wedding date of May 30th. We actually decided from the beginning of COVID when we knew we were not going to be able to have our wedding day as we originally planned, to just cancel everything and start from scratch. All that mattered to us was that we had each other and we didn’t want to wait! We instead had an intimate ceremony with just our immediate family, best man, and maid of honor. It turned out to be the absolute most perfect day and we would not change a thing about it! It turned out to be better than we ever could have imagined! Through the whole thing we had so many people come together to make sure our day was as close to perfect as possible and it exceeded our expectations! We had a ceremony at Adams Point in Durham, NH. Which is a spot near and dear to us as a couple.

Our photographer Allison Clarke Photography, still came and did our photos for us. Our family set up a driftwood aisle, with flowers everywhere on the rocky shore. And we followed the ceremony with a lobster bake reception at my parents. We were able to Zoom our wedding to our closest family members, who surprised us later in the day when we got back to the reception. Everyone on Zoom had socially distanced and lined our driveway to see us have our first dance in a field behind my parents house. They were all able to still be a small part of our special day and supported us through everything.

WE WERE SO GLAD IN THE END THAT WE JUST CANCELED EVERYTHING BECAUSE THE DAY WAS SO PERFECT WE NOW DECIDED TO NOT HAVE A SECOND CEREMONY, AS ORIGINALLY PLANNED, AND JUST HAVE A RECEPTION CELEBRATION LATER THIS FALL! IT WAS STRESS FREE AND THE DAY TRULY CELEBRATED US AS A COUPLE!

Thank you and Madeleine’s for being a great support during this. The MD Bride Tribe truly was a huge help during this crazy time and made me feel like I wasn’t alone in the process of postponing and canceling.”

Congratulations to both Ally and Brianna on their weddings! Any time a bride follows her heart, and celebrates in a way that feels right, is a win in our books. We can’t wait to see how the rest of our 2020 and newly 2021 brides choose to celebrate their love!