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Being a bride during a pandemic and the rise of the ‘Micro Wedding…’
Interview, Words and Photography Jennifer West
Many things have been affected during the pandemic, not least weddings, with over 132,000 weddings in 2020 being postponed or canceled. Couples and wedding suppliers have been equally frustrated by the ever-moving goals posts and compelled to re-evaluate what a wedding means during one of the most challenging times in recent history.
During the small windows of opportunity in between lockdowns, some couples however chose to get married anyway, opting for elopements and short intimate ceremonies with only a handful of guests. The whole wedding community came together to provide creative solutions for couples and make weddings still happen. Amid the crisis, the ‘Micro Weddingʼ was born.
I reconnected with two of my brides who originally had very different wedding plans. We talked about why they chose a micro wedding and how it has redefined what it means to be a modern bride.
Surbhi and Michaelʼs original plans were to have a large multicultural wedding surrounded by friends and relatives from all over the world including India and China. After their original plans were put on hold twice, Surbhi and Michael were married in London at Marylebone Town Hall, in a stylish, laughter-filled micro wedding with just three guests. Surbhi and Michael held traditional Indian Mehandi, Haldi, and Choorha ceremonies at their home with their ‘bubbleʼ and although their loved ones couldnʼt be there in person, all the celebrations were streamed over video call to their relatives. It was a micro wedding at its most creative and full of so many emotions.
Jen: “Why did you choose a micro wedding?”
Surbhi: “I think the whole idea in our mind at that time was that everyone needs to be safe and that we would be having our celebrations later when the world gets normal. Which it still hasnʼt! But a more intimate wedding made us enjoy the moment more. It was me and my husband, just being in the moment and having fun with all our friends and families zoom-ing in into all the celebrations (pun intended!)”
Jen: “How did it make you rethink your wedding?”
Surbhi: “We just thought, whatever way possible, we will get married even if it was just my husband and me, we will enjoy possibly one of the biggest days of our lives, make it official, and have the time of our lives! And WE DID! I have never been so proud of myself!”
Jen: “What was your favourite thing about having a micro wedding?”
Surbhi: “There are so many good things about having a more intimate wedding. You're more likely to be able to do what you want when you're working on a smaller scale, It's a more intimate experience shared with the people youʼre closest to.”
Brittany and Robin were married last November between lockdowns in a small but totally beautiful wedding at Southwood Hall in the Norfolk countryside.
Jen: "Why did you choose a more intimate wedding?"
Brittany: "It was such an easy choice to make. When people asked us why we werenʼt postponing I answered that it was because we loved each other and it was more important to us to have a good marriage rather than a big wedding. It isnʼt about the venue, the flowers, the cake or inviting the aunts and uncles you havenʼt seen in years, it was simply that we had found that special person that we couldnʼt live without and we wanted to start our next adventure of being Mr and Mrs."
Jen: "How was your attitude towards getting married altered?"
Brittany: "Once we decided that whatever restrictions the pandemic threw atus we would go ahead with our day as soon as possible, the stress and worry seemed to just disappear. We knew that what we were choosing was for our marriage vows to be the most important part of our day and that we were going to be able to share that with the special people in our lives, which is our immediate family. It made us more excited."
Jen: "What was the best thing about having an intimate wedding?"
Brittany: "Getting to break with tradition and do things our way! The rule book went out the window and we didnʼt have to do things that we had previously felt pressured to include. As the day was more relaxed I got precious quality time with my parents in the morning, following the ceremony we cherished being able to spend time with our closest family, and then because there was no rush to fit everything in we had the most incredible few hours with our photographer, where we didnʼt stop laughing and took the most amazing pictures."
Essentially the pandemic has stripped what being a bride and having a wedding means back to its bare bones. While the world stops, love remains and thrives. As my bride put it so positively “Our day was perfect and looking back on it all it was even better than our original plans because the day was all about love and marrying my best friend."
With thanks to Surbhi, Michael, Brittany and Robin.