“Our original wedding date was November 2020. Last summer, we felt as though there were too many unknowns about the Fall. So we made the tough decision to postpone to June 2021 in the hopes that we had a higher chance of having a ceremony and reception more like what we had envisioned.

We were disappointed in March/April 2021 when we were experiencing a 3rd COVID wave and went back into lockdown. Our incredible planner – Iris Li of Blue Lavender Events – helped us come up with a plan for each of the province’s colour-coded re-opening phases. And so we (nervously) waited. And of course, as we all know, the province then announced a very different reopening plan and there were no longer colour codes! So back to the drawing board we went.

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We planned for a ceremony with our parents (that was the only thing permitted at the time) and then a small, intimate, socially distanced outdoor reception in Michael’s parents backyard with immediate family (as we were restricted from having any sort of indoor reception). Four days before our wedding day, the province announced that phase one of reopening was happening on our wedding day. Which meant we could invite 20 people to the ceremony. We were so happy! It meant we could have our siblings and immediate family and some friends there in person to see us get married.

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Iris quickly contacted our vendors (who were all so amazing and flexible), adjusted our plans to include a longer ceremony with some speeches and our first dance, and we sent out invites. Because we couldn’t have a traditional reception like we had wanted, our family came together to make it happen for us and do so in a fun and safe way. They rented tables, chairs and lights, setup a bar with local craft beers from our neighbourhood, and we ordered in dinner from a local restaurant. They also surprised us with videos of all of our guests sending their love and well wishes on our wedding day. They turned it into a 2-hour long movie that we watched on a projector and screen setup in the backyard. It was so nice to hear from our family and friends that couldn’t be there with us. They all banded together to make this happen for us and we will be forever grateful that we got to have that experience.

We ate, drank, danced around the yard and had an epic time. Was it the 180-person fancy reception we imagined? No. But in so many ways it was better.

The amazing team at Sash & Bustle helped me find the perfect dress for our day – Lorita by Robert Bullock. I fell in love with the classic, simple mermaid style and the beaded embroidered cap sleeves. The low back and train were my favourite part of the dress!

S&B also helped me find beautiful accessories to compliment my dress, including a bracelet, earrings, and a gorgeous hair pin. Everything came together seamlessly! I am all about comfort, so I paired it with white, high-top sneakers.

I had picked out my dress pre-COVID and was so happy to finally get to wear it almost two years later! I felt stylish, elegant, and beautiful – how every bride wants to feel on their wedding day.”

– #SashAndBustleBride Megan

Bride is wearing the Lorita dress by Robert Bullock Bride

Photographed by Ryan Bolton Photography