Manifesting Milestones
By Tyler English
A traditional wedding requires weeks if not months of planning. Couples spend time choosing everything from seating arrangements to color schemes. It will be stressful and time consuming but the end result is worth it. But what would happen if you threw a global pandemic into the mix?
In 2020, couples had to revamp, rehaul and reevaluate their wedding plans when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the United States. Destination weddings became a distant dream and large venues with over 100 guests turned into an impossible goal.
Some couples who had plans to get married in the midst of the pandemic, changed and adapted their wedding. In the process they lost down payments, leaned on family for support and learned about their relationship.
Photo taken by Daniel Fletcher, provided by Matt and Sãmia Kazimir. At their wedding in Boston Matt and Sãmia Kazimir celebrated their first wedding ceremony of the summer.
Double Feature
Matthew Kazimir had originally planned to marry Sãmia Kazimir on their destination wedding in Hawaii back in July 2020.
“We had a full house rented, the wedding was supposed to be her immediate family and my parents and my brother,” Kazimir said.
They had never wanted to have a large wedding but they always wanted to make the day something special for each other and for their close family. With Sãmia always wanting to visit Hawaii, they figured why not make their wedding something truly memorable.
“My family was going to meet his family on our wedding day, it was going to be a nice way of introducing everyone,” Sãmia said.
When COVID-19 hit the United States at the start of 2020 Kazimir and Sãmia worried that their wedding day may be in jeopardy. While Kazimir was hopeful that they may still get the chance to bring the family to Hawaii, they decided to wait it out and see what would happen. But they had to change their plans once quarantine regulations went into effect.
They decided not to go to Hawaii even after paying their deposits on the house, flights, the dress and hair and make-up. Most of the deposits that they put down they were able to get compensation in return however the deposits on the house were not coming back to them. So, they improvised.
Photo taken by Daniel Fletcher, provided by Matt and Sãmia Kazimir. The Kazimir’s celebrated their marriage in Boston with members of Sãmia’s family.
With Sãmia having family and friends in Boston and Kazimir’s family living in North Carolina, they decided to have two weddings, one with each family.
“In Boston we got officially Married on July 19 and then on August 23 we had a ceremony in North Carolina,” Sãmia said.
The couple knew that it did not matter when or how they got married, all that they wanted was to be husband and wife. Wanting to ensure that both of their families would get to enjoy the union between then they had a celebration with each of them.
In Boston Sãmia’s family turned her Aunt’s house into a reception area with food and dancing. In North Carolina, they were able to have a more traditional ceremony in a historic park and then a small reception at Kazimir’s parents’ home. Both Kazimir and Sãmia agreed that the process of getting married through COVID-19 was stressful and scary but it brough them closer together.
With COVID-19 still causing havoc around the country, the families of Kazimir and Sãmia have still not met.
Photo taken by Karen Salinas, provided by Matt and Sãmia Kazimir. Their second wedding ceremony took place in North Carolina, where Matt Kazimir’s family lives. This ceremony was the more traditional wedding ceremony.
Family Affair
Photo taken by Megan Dailor, provided by Catherine and Kurt Knoess. The Knoess’ had their wedding ceremony in Catherine’s mother’s backyard. It was a small and intimate ceremony.
A guest list of 150 people for a wedding seems pretty reasonable – not during a pandemic. Kurt Knoess and Catherine Knoess were set to have a relatively large wedding in August of 2020, however they had to massively down size due to COVID-19.
“Our venue still said that would could get married there but with a limited guest list, no dancing, everyone had to be masked and all the other restrictions were in place,” Catherine said.
Collectively Knoess and Catherine decided that they did not want to spend thousands of dollars on a wedding that was not what they were looking for. They had already spent money on the venue, catering, a DJ and a photographer.
The first thing they had in mind when making decisions to change their wedding was safety, for them and their guests. Yet they also wanted to make sure that their wedding was something they actually wanted. This led the couple cancelling the venue wedding and have a small ceremony and reception at Catherine’s mother’s house.
“We had the whole [wedding] outdoors, the ceremony was in the front yard,” Knoess said. “Her dad and her cousin had built us and arbor to stand under and her mom rented a big tent for the backyard.”
Photo taken by Megan Dailor, provided by Catherine and Kurt Knoess. Their dogs are a vital part of Catherine and Kurt’s lives and it was important that the dogs have a role in the ceremony and reception.
Knoess and Catherine were not too concerned about have a lavish wedding with all the bells and whistles. They wanted to have a moment and shared experience with their families. Having the ceremony and reception at Catherine’s parents’ house meant that all those closest to them could come. However, since COVID-19 regulations were still in place they kept the gathering small to about 29 people.
The ceremony itself lasted only a few minutes and the rest of the day was spent taking photos, eating, dancing and talking with the closest family and friends.
After spending nine years together Knoess and Catherine were not too worried about having a story book wedding they simply wanted to start the rest of their lives together.
“We had everything we needed right there,” Knoess said.
Photo taken by Megan Dailor, provided by Catherine and Kurt Knoess. The couple’s love for their dogs was also showcased in the small details, like this cake decoration.
A Year in Waiting
Photos taken by RJZ Photography, provided by Kyle Anderson and Courtney Lipka. Anderson and Lipka took engagement photos while still figuring out what to do with their wedding plans.
While some couples aimed to get married despite the pandemic, other couples made different arrangements. Kyle Anderson and Courtney Lipka made the choice to postpone their wedding until July of 2021 to ensure that they could have the same wedding that they had planned for this year.
Anderson and Lipka are still planning on getting married at the same venue that they had chosen however far later than they had expected. When they first rescheduled their wedding, they faced some backlash from some family members.
“We originally tried to push it back to September forth, but my sisters had a wedding the day after that they were the maids of honor for,” Lipka said.
Wanting to ensure that her family could be at her wedding and actually share in the moment with her, they pushed the wedding back even further. Lipka explained that her family was a little upset that dates were confirmed without the family being involved. She later apologized and then pushed the wedding back further.
Photos taken by RJZ Photography, provided by Kyle Anderson and Courtney Lipka. The couple has been together for almost ten years, they are willing to wait another year to have the wedding they have imagined.
“My family has been really supportive,” Anderson said. “Courtney’s family’s support was different because they wanted people to be able to come and enjoy themselves without having to wear a mask or socially distance.”
Both families are holding safety above all else but at the same time want to preserve what was originally planned for the wedding. Since Anderson and Lipka decided to push their wedding back a year from its original date they are hoping to be able to have the normal wedding they had planned.
“The wedding we wanted to have and envisioned in our brains just wouldn’t be possible this year, so we had to move on,” Anderson said.
Waiting one more year after being together for ten years already does not seem like a long time to Anderson and Lipka. They are trying to keep a positive outlook and are still planning on having the wedding that they imagined together.
Photos taken by RJZ Photography, provided by Kyle Anderson and Courtney Lipka. Anderson and Lipka met when they were young. They have been in each other’s lives for a long time and know that a pandemic is something they can get through together.
Monumental Milestones
Marriage and a pandemic all in the same year seems like a lot of history. For some 2020 could have been remembered as the year that they got married. Others may remember it as the time a global pandemic shifted their life massively. Putting those two life events together results in one crazy year for those who planned to get married.
The Kazimir’s turned their wedding into a summer affair with two weddings equally as touching. The Knoess’ decided that the glitz and glam of a big wedding didn’t matter and they just wanted to be married already. Anderson and Lipka figured that waiting one more year for the wedding they had been dreaming was well worth the wait if it meant everyone could be together.
Planning a wedding takes a lot of effort, financially, mentally and emotionally. The couples who had to get married during COVID-19 did not have the easiest time planning and or castrating their weddings. Some decided to take the financial hit and just plan a wedding off the cuff, while others decided to hold onto their deposits and venues and wait to get married.
Each couple had their marriage influenced by COVID-19 but they have one thing in common, they all believe that this experience made them stronger.