This California wedding at the Sequoia Retreat Center started with a huge twist that could have derailed everything.
We got a call on Thursday from Yuxi and Will’s wedding coordinator, telling us the bride had just tested positive for Covid. The wedding was in TWO DAYS. And… the wedding was still ON. The call was merely to ask us were we still in? We then called Ryan, the photographer, to make sure he was comfortable being there. Ryan said he’d never miss it and would just take extra precautions.
But how do you have a wedding when the bride has Covid? Yuxi and Will, along with their absolutely amazing wedding planner Rebecca Johnson, devised a creative plan on how to safely have a wedding with a Covid-positive bride. For one, Yuxi did her own makeup, outdoors, with a makeup artist standing nearby instructing her on what to do. Second, instead of Yuxi’s parents walking her down the aisle, Yuxi and Will entered the ceremony together from the front, staying physically away from their family and guests. There were no family or wedding party group portraits. And for the wedding dinner, which was outdoors, Yuxi and Will stayed at a table alone, at a safe distance from everyone else. For the dancing portion of the evening, which was indoors, Yuxi and Will skipped it and let their guests party without them.
But you can’t keep a bride and groom apart on their wedding, so Will stayed by Yuxi all day. And even though it was up for debate, they did have their first kiss at the ceremony. That was something, they told us, they felt they would regret in the grand scheme of their lives if they didn’t do it.
Despite all the Covid precautions and changes to the plans, everyone still felt all the joy that only a wedding can bring. With Covid disrupting everyone’s lives for almost three years now, we applaud Yuxi and Will for pushing through and finding a creative way to have the wedding day they dreamed of. They did it in the safest, most unselfish way possible, even when that meant having to miss out on major, meaningful parts of it.
Huge thanks to MP Singh, a photographer we have known and trusted for many years, who joined Ryan on this very unique day. And we remain in awe of Rebecca Johnson Design. It takes a seasoned pro to think on her feet and readjust the entire infrastructure of a wedding to make a couple’s wedding dreams come true. Rebecca and her team rose to the occasion with grace and confidence.
And decades from now, when Yuxi and Will look back on their wedding, the joy of the day will be at the top of their memories. Not only that, they now have proof they can make it through even the greatest challenges life may put in front of them. What a way to begin a marriage!