Our Little Pandemic Home Wedding

In February of 2021 Ralph and I got married. It wasn't the ceremony on the private beach in Hawaii that Ralph had been dreaming of but some things are just out of our control.

Considering that we had a hard time finding an open government office to give us a marriage license and an even harder time finding a justice of the peace, judge or minister willing to perform a marriage ceremony in the COVID pandemic, we were more than happy to jump in with both feet when we found an officiant who was willing to marry us with a week's notice.

The ceremony was held in our living room with the furniture temporarily rearranged. Our "altar" was the folding table that we use for holidays and family parties. I covered it with layered white tablecloths from Walmart and pink scarf from my closet. Behind the table, I created a backdrop by hanging a curtain rod from two command hooks and hanging some pretty but inexpensive pink crinkle curtains, also from Walmart. It still makes me smile that my wedding was decorated with things I picked up on a grocery run.

The roses were picked up at a local grocery store and put in a pretty pink vase I found at Hobby Lobby. I used some of the same roses to make my bouquet, which I bound with crocheted lace and my husband's dog tags.

I decorated some Walmart candles to create a unity candle set for the ceremony. While our wedding was non-traditional for sure, but we included some traditional elements.

After the ceremony, we took our family and a few members of our extended family out to dinner at one of favorite restaurants. While we were eating, the village set off fireworks over the lake. Not for us, just a beautiful coincidence.

We wrapped up the evening with cake and champagne at my mother-in-law's house. The cake was ordered from a local bakery and I didn't ask for a wedding cake, just specified that it was for adults and I wanted pink. They did a lovely job and the cake itself was delicious, with a raspberry filling. I'm going to ask them to replicate it as much as possible for every anniversary.

Unfortunately I only have cell phone photos and video from the whole evening, but we had a wonderful time. I don't have a single regret about how we got married and I LOVE that some elements of our wedding, like the meal and the cake, are so easily replicated each year.