2020 has been bizarre to say the least. There have been so many surreal events that have happened this year already. Add planning a wedding into that chaotic mix and you’ve got yourself a real stressful cocktail.
So many of our couples have had to make changes to their 2020 weddings. Some couples moved to a later date in 2020 and some changed their date to a 2021 wedding. Some scaled down their guest list so they could have a small wedding.
For one of our Epik couples, E + P, made plenty of changes to their original wedding plans. Prior to COVID, E + P were scheduled to wed on July 3rd at the beautiful mountaintop venue in Reno, the Tannenbaum. The pandemic brought so much uncertainty with travel restrictions and social distancing measures that the couple felt they couldn’t make their July 3rd date work to celebrate with over 100+ loved ones. They knew they needed to pivot to a small wedding.
Once you’ve set your wedding date with the venue, sent the save-the-dates AND the wedding invitations, the chances of making changes to that date were extremely small. Here were E + P flipping through a calendar looking for new dates that could work for their wedding.
The couple had chosen a new date – the Friday after Thanksgiving. It was going to be great. Family was going to be in town and everyone was going to have another reason to celebrate and be thankful. Then they realized how little daylight they would have and how important that was for them so they pivoted again.
A 2021 wedding wasn’t in the cards for E + P. They decided to have a small wedding ceremony or a minimony with a few of their close loved ones. Once social distancing measures ease up and we can have larger gatherings again, E + P will have their larger celebration with all their family and friends in October.
E + P chose June 5th as their official wedding date. Our Epik wedding photographer drove two and a half hours outside of Reno, Nevada to photograph E + P’s intimate wedding ceremony which took place in a church in a small town in Ione, California. This was the church the two grew up going to and the pastor, who was a family friend, performed their wedding ceremony. He had a lot of personal stories about the couple growing up and the ceremony was full of laughter and fun little moments.
Once their small wedding ceremony ended to capture some sunset photos. E + P had envisioned having their photos taken at Preston Castle. This was a local historical landmark built in the 1800’s and sits on top of a hill overlooking the town. The wind picked up since their wedding ceremony and the bride’s ten foot veil danced for the photos.
Even though the couple is planning on having a wedding reception in October, they still had a small wedding reception with their family. E + P’s grandparent’s large one acre backyard was the perfect location to hold their small wedding reception with their family. The grandparents spent hours decorating the space with mementos from the couple’s time together.
E + P sure have had one hell of a time planning their wedding. They would have never thought a pandemic would completely interrupt months of wedding planning. Despite having to make multiple changes to their wedding day, their nuptials were nothing short of beautiful.
Love is not cancelled. E + P are proof of that. Our wedding photography team had a fantastic time with this couple photographing their small wedding with their closest family and friends. We can’t wait until their big wedding this fall!
Here’s a few of their sneak peeks!
Feeling apprehensive about booking during this uncertainty? See how we’re managing weddings and events during COVID.
