How One Bride Adapted During COVID-19

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Changing Your Wedding Plans During a Pandemic

**05/16/2020** BY *UrbanStems*

Due to COVID-19, Jennifer Willner and her now husband found out five weeks before their wedding that they'd have to postpone. Rather than completely cancelling, they held a small ceremony and switched up their guest list, florals, and everything in between.

How did you and your husband meet?

David and I met at college. We attended Stony Brook University and were placed in the same dorm, our suites were next to each other so we would cross paths all the time. Half way through the last semester we exchanged numbers and began talking. When the summer came around dave lived in upstate New York and I lived in Long Island so we decided to see how things would go but not put a label on our relationship.

It took one week before I purchased a plane ticket and went to visit him and the rest is history!

How did COVID-19 change your wedding plans?

Due to COVID-19 our wedding plans were crushed, we had no choice but to postpone to a later date in September. We went back and forth with all our options and very quickly realized it wasn’t about the party being canceled that we were upset about, it was all the moments we felt we would be robbed of.

At the end of the day it isn’t about the wedding, it’s about the marriage and so we chose to elope! We loved our church and our priest said he would still marry us in a small private ceremony as long as we could get a marriage license.

Due to the pandemic our town hall would not see us and we had an extremely difficult time getting our marriage license. Two weeks before our hopeful April 25th wedding, our town agreed to see us as a courtesy since I work on the frontlines of one of the biggest hospitals on Long Island as a radiology tech.

For her wedding day, Jennifer went with our Pink Champagne bouquet full of two-toned roses, scabiosas, and carnations.

Despite the pandemic and closures, Jennifer and her fiancé, Dave, decided to wed in a smaller ceremony (all while six feet apart).

Tell us about your special day!

On April 25th with 10 our closet friends and family (all 6 feet apart) we tied the knot at our dream church and celebrated in our backyard with immediate family, some catered food from our favorite restaurant and champagne! It was intimate, romantic and perfect.

Dave and I were able to enjoy every second of the beautiful day together and now we get to look forward to celebrating with the rest of our guests hopefully in September.

What made you choose UrbanStems for your wedding bouquet?

After reaching out to several local florists it became clear I was not going to be able to have the wedding bouquet I had my heart set on. Most were only able to provide silk flowers or limited roses and colors. I began my search online to try and find something beautiful but was very weary to order from a site I’ve never used, I searched for several days and kept going back to UrbanStems because they had the best reviews and a beautiful selection.

I always had wanted white flowers for my wedding but I went with The Pink Champagne bouquet and I’m so glad I did.

"The bouquet was beautiful, full and the epitome of spring. I felt like the flowers and the variety pinks in the bouquet would bring joy and brightness to our day."

- Jennifer Willner

Any advice for other couples facing the same predicament as you two?

There were so many great aspects of our day but the best part of our wedding day was standing at the alter together and saying our vows to one another. My heart goes out to all the other couples whose weddings have been altered due to the current pandemic.

Everyone is different and most of us want our dream day the way we had planned it but my advice is if you can, still get married! It’s all about the love you and your partner share and making a commitment to one another, nothing should be able to get in the way of your moment. Plus, one day it will be a great story to tell your kids!

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Changing Your Wedding Plans During a Pandemic

"The bouquet was beautiful, full and the epitome of spring. I felt like the flowers and the variety pinks in the bouquet would bring joy and brightness to our day."