The world has come to a standstill following the COVID-19 pandemic. Across the globe, every industry has been affected. What’s meant to be a happy, special moment in peoples’ lives have been postponed or cancelled. This couple, however, got creative and decided to hold a virtual wedding.
Andrew and Cassidy Dayton from Missouri had planned to tie the knot on April 25. However, as the pandemic worsened, they realised their dream day could not go on the way they had planned.
“The important part for us was being married,” Cassidy said. “Getting married was kind of secondary to becoming husband and wife.”
So, they hatched a plan. They contacted all their wedding guests and invited them to their big day which would be streamed live on Facebook. The pair said ‘I do’ at the Community of Christ’s Arnold congregation where they first met. They always wanted to get married there but because of their large guestlist, they needed a bigger venue.
“When we got the notification yesterday that the pastor was going to allow us to go inside the church, I just started crying because it was literally something I had dreamed of being able to do. So, it made yesterday even more special for us,” said Cassidy.
200 of their friends and family tuned in for their wedding, including quarantined family members all the way in Italy.
“Even though there weren’t people there, it turned out to be a bigger wedding than we planned,” Andrew said.
Their guests even got into the wedding spirit.
“We had several friends send pictures to us or Snapchat of themselves all dressed up: ties, dresses, with their little kids,” Cassidy said. “They were watching as a family. It was amazing.”
While the decision to go ahead with their wedding despite not being able to have their family physically present was a hard one to make, Cassidy could see that it was necessary.
“I was convinced by [Andrew] and some other family members that, especially right now, people could use some joy,” Cassidy said. “And if we could share that with them, even just a little bit, by letting everyone see us get married and be there with us virtually, that we should do it.”
Also read:Don’t cancel your wedding, live stream it
Feature image:Unsplash
