Nolan and Daphnee, like many others this year had to rethink what their wedding was going to look like. While originally they had planned a beautiful Fairmont Le Château Montebello wedding, COVID19 put those plans on hold. Fortunately for them, Nolan’s mother was in the process of launching a beautiful new Prince Edward County event space called, County Chic Workshops.
I asked Nolan and Daphnee to share their experience of planning a Micro Wedding in Prince Edward County during COVID. Check out their responses below and some images from their beautiful wedding.
What was it like planning a Micro Wedding in Prince Edward County in the era of COVID?
It was an emotional rollercoaster to say the least! Then again, we feel so blessed to have each other’s love and support to guide us through these challenging times. Planning in the era of COVID meant planning two weddings in the span of a year. In fact, we had everything planned, decorations ordered, accommodations booked, and much more for our initial Le Château Montebello wedding. After making the decision to postpone our large celebration to May 2021, we had to go back to the drawing board and plan a completely different wedding at a new location for September 2020.
In retrospect, it was a blessing in disguise. Planning for our Plan B Micro Wedding gave us a fun and certainly wild distraction during the pandemic. The most unique part of planning a small, intimate wedding in collaboration with the County Chic Workshops team, meant that all of our immediate family was involved in the planning and organization process. We believe this friends and family collaboration added to the sense of togetherness we felt so strongly on our wedding day. We are so thankful for all of the help we received from our family leading up to the wedding.
Did you have to adjust your plans?
Did we ever! Our original wedding plans was to have a weekend-long wedding celebration at Fairmont Hotel Le Château Montebello in Montebello, Quebec. We had a total of 165 guests invited to our wedding, many of which were coming from the United States. Save the dates and formal invitation suites were sent to our guests prior to modifying our plans due to the pandemic.
In May 2020, we made the decision to postpone our large wedding ceremony to May 2021 (we are keeping our fingers crossed that we will be able to celebrate with all of our friends and extended family for a vow renewal in May 2021. Only time will tell)! Sadden (heartbroken to say the least) by this decision, we felt compelled to find a way to get married on our initial wedding date (September 19th, 2020). Nolan’s mother, Debby, had just recently opened up a new business on their beautiful family property in Hillier, ON (PEC). Debby and the County Chic Workshops team always had a vision of planning elegant, intimate weddings. As a family, we felt this was a sign. And indeed it was. County Chic Workshops held their first official wedding for Nolan and I. We are truly blessed that their team made our micro wedding dreams a reality.
To align with the provincial guidelines, we reduced our guest list to 30 people, excluding all friends and extended family. This also meant excluding our bridal party, aside from our best-man and Made of honour. This was definitely the toughest decision to date.
In retrospect, we feel it was truly meant to be for us to tie the knot in Prince Edward County.
What was your favourite part about having a Micro Wedding in Prince Edward County?
Being able to spend intimate and quality time with all of our guests. As we look back at our reception, the moments we both remember the most are the speeches. Each speech was very heartfelt, personal, and genuine. We truly believe that the intimate venue set the tone for some of the most beautiful speeches. We will hold onto the kind words of love and encouragement that were shared by our friends and family for a lifetime.
Most importantly, enjoying every moment of our special day in each other’s company. We didn’t expect to be able to spend as much time together as a newlywed couple, but having less than 30 guests allowed us to celebrate every moment with each other.
Any tips for future brides who have to adjust their original plans?
Every sleepless night and tear will be worth it at the end!
Don’t let go of your initial vision for your big day. For example, I had purchased two dresses for our large wedding ceremony of 160 guests. After much consideration, I chose to wear both dresses even though we changed the venue and only had 30 guests! It ended up being such a fun and special moment for me to change dresses for the night. I wouldn’t have done it any differently!
Keeping some of the planning elements from our original plans to your “plan B” can be a ton of fun. For example, we repurposed a bunch of the stationary and decor items we had purchased for our first venue. We plan on using these items for our vow renewal ceremony in May 2021. Now we get to use everything twice (who doesn’t love a good deal!)
Believe us when we say that your friends and family will understand if you choose to reduce the guest list. While it may be stressful and heartbreaking to tell a close friend or family member that they are uninvited to your wedding (or not invited at all depending on the situation), rest assured that everyone will and does understand! Our friends and family were beyond understanding. In fact, they were so thrilled for us to be able to find a safe way to celebrate our love.
Having a smaller wedding doesn’t mean it won’t be any fun. To the contrary, we had an absolute blast at our wedding and got to enjoy the evening of celebrations with each one of our guests, which at times can’t be possible with larger weddings.
Be kind to yourself. Allow yourself to work through the emotions you feel. No one envisions getting married in these unprecedented times. It’s okay not to be okay. But also know that planning a wedding during a pandemic will only make your wedding day that much more memorable. It will all be worth it, we promise!
Day of Vendors:
Photography – Cait Lavoie / County Chic Workshops – venue, day of organizing, wedding planning / Coriander Girl – bouquets and ceremony arrangements / Dahlia May Flower Farm – reception florals / Flossie’s – catering / Erin Martyn Make Up – Make-up artist / Bellini Coiffure – Hair / Brian Harbec – live music / Iced Cupcakery – Cake