Like many of you, Lauren and Rich never dreamt when they first met nine years ago that their 2020 wedding would unfold like it did. Originally, they’d planned a big wedding for 4th July, but instead of postponing, they decided to keep the date as it was important to them and scaled it right back.
In fact they only had 10 days to finalise plans after Boris Johnson’s announcement on 23rd June regarding weddings being allowed again on July 4th – and to add to the pressure, a national newspaper were due to be present to cover the celebration!
Lauren based the look for their day around her dress – a black floral We Are Kindred number, paired with New Look shoes and Great Frog jewellery. ‘Classic black’ became a loose theme, with the rest of their bridal party all donning black too. Lauren was adamant that she still wanted a striking bouquet for their paired-back day and for her bridesmaids to have smaller versions of it too. “I wanted to have a bouquet I could love on the day, but also dry out and love for many years in our home,” she said.
Their ceremony, at West Bridgford Registry Office in Nottingham, was very intimate as only their parents were allowed in the room with them – even their photographer had to shoot it from outside! “Our loved ones all waited outside while we were getting married,” explained Lauren. “They banged on the windows and cheered when we were pronounced husband and wife, which was amazing but super emotional!”
Afterwards, they moved to a nearby park for socially distanced cocktails by The Black Pearl. They played a Spotify playlist on a boombox, and got lots of well-wishes from passing locals, which made their day.
“We are so grateful our friends and family were so understanding of our choice to get married regardless of Covid-19,” the bride concluded. “Our plans changed due to the pandemic but everyone was very understanding and made our day the best it could possibly be (and people were able to Zoom in to our ceremony!). The cocktails and beers went down very well in the park (so much so, the bride ordered another round for guests and we ended up staying an hour longer than intended).”
“We cant wait for our reception/evening party which has been postponed until it’s safe to celebrate with wider friends and family and to jet off for a honeymoon (one day!)”
