A couple in Canada had to cancel their wedding due to the coronavirus outbreak. Instead of cancelling it all together, they decided to have their ceremony at home.
Anastasija and Josh spoke to Insider and explained: “We got our decor, we got our party favors, we got our music, we got our DJ, photographer, everything,” said Anastasija. “Everything was planned until about three weeks before our wedding.”
“And then, COVID,” Josh said.
Anastasija’s brother and sister-in-law, who were supposed to provide the decorations, got stuck in Europe as borders began to close. Other guests also had to cancel due to travel restrictions. Then gatherings of 50 people or more were banned, leaving the couple with few options.
All plans had to be changed and so the couple decided to let their 135 guests know that the celebrations would be a no-go. Instead, their ceremony would be held at home. Only family were to attend and Josh’s best friend, his best man.
Anastasija explained: “We can’t even express how hard it was to message all of our friends that we’ve been so excited to have at our wedding to be like, ‘We’re not only moving the date, but you guys can’t come’. It was heartbreaking. But we came to the conclusion that we could either postpone or we could just get married.”
Their makeshift wedding took place at Josh’s parents house, with white draping for decor. Josh said that the wedding felt very intimate.
“It felt very personal and very intimate. What do you really need when you get married? You don’t need all the trappings, all the decorations, all these things. You just really need family, and maybe a few close friends, and that’s what we had.”
The couple weren’t able to cancel their limo and so rode in style to a location away from the house to take their wedding photos.
Josh’s best man told the couple to look outside and that’s when the surprise was revealed. “I start seeing a friend of mine, and another friend of mine, and another friend. All of these familiar faces from church are lining the street, all in their cars. We just broke down,” said Josh.
“They were honking, cheering, yelling congratulations. Josh and I were shocked. We were crying, we couldn’t believe this was happening. Seeing them on the street, celebrating our day with us, made it so magical,” said Anastasija.
Image: JL Frew/ Facebook
