My COVID Wedding Story

The Proposal

Hello everyone, Bailey here. I've been wanting to share my wedding story with you all because it was such a crazy experience, but an even better memory! Trenton and I had been dating for 5 years on the dot when he proposed. He took me to a bridge where he asked me to be his girlfriend in high school. It was pouring down rain and I was reluctant to go the way he wanted me to because it was the long way to get where he supposedly was taking me. Once I finally committed he walked me to a spot where he had set up pictures, notes, ticket stubs, and other memories from our relationship in picture frames. The bridge was lined with rose petals and when got there he turned towards me and thats when I knew. He started saying how he wanted to spend forever with me as he tossed the umbrella to the side and got down on one knee. OF COURSE I said yes and we kissed while the rain was pouring down. It truly sounds like a movie and it felt so unreal at the time. Here's the video to watch it because my AMAZING husband had someone video it!

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/cdf35b_3d90b544c6434d26b1538972c2a4362f/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Thank you to the talented James and Lori Townsend for creating this beautiful video. Go check out their page http://www.townsendpics.com

Our Perfect Plan

Once he proposed it was right onto wedding planning. I was currently going to UT Arlington for nursing and he was at Dallas Baptist University getting his bachelor's in kinesiology and masters in education. We planned our wedding for May 23, 2020 at the DBU chapel and our reception would be downstairs where we would dance on the balcony together as a newly married couple. Hotels were booked for the day before the wedding for our wedding party and the rehearsal dinner was going to be a classy and elegant Chick-fil-A hang out near our venue. The next morning my bridal party and I were going to head to the chapel where we would get ready in a beautiful bridal suite that had marble flooring and plenty of mirrors and counter space. The wedding was to begin at 2pm and we had about 200 guests invited along with 13 friends and family within our wedding party. I was going to walk down the aisle to the wedding march played on an organ with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. We were going to recite the traditional vows because I am way too shy to speak in front of everyone and then head to our reception. The reception would have had a slideshow of our engagement pictures and beautiful greenery displays on each table. After the dancing and picture taking we were going to go to a hotel in Dallas and spend our first night together as a couple. The next morning we would be off on a plane headed to London where we would spend the next 14 days on our honeymoon exploring Europe.

Here are some pictures of our venue.

The New Plan

Our previous plan however did not happen and here's how it all went down. Around March 20th we were getting a feeling that our wedding was going to be cancelled due to COVID-19. We kept seeing businesses close down and the small gathering limit dwindle each week. So we decided to not wait and let our vendors take their time so we called each one of them pushing for an answer. The chapel completely understood why we needed to know urgently and told us their decision within a couple days. Throughout all of this Trenton and I had not decided on what we wanted to do with our "big" wedding. Were we going to push it back or cancel it? If we were going to push it back did we want to go to the justice of the peace or have a small ceremony with just family? If you know me then you know that this was SUPER stressful. Trenton and I spent about 3 hours talking with our family about having a quick ceremony within a week if the chapel cancelled on us. It was very hard for me to ask the most important people in my life to drop what they were doing to help us put together a ceremony, but everyone was on board (and that's a lot of people in my family).

Around March 21st we had received news from the chapel that they were going to cancel our wedding and give us a full refund! This was one of the biggest blessings we had received because so many people around us were having to push back their wedding due to no refunds. Once we got this update Trenton and I immediately tried to get our marriage license and it wasn't as easy as just walking in. We got to the building as soon as it opened and a security guard was outside telling us to make an appointment because they were restricting many types of business starting THAT DAY. Thank goodness for Trenton being calm because he figured out a way to get an appointment within 2 hours and we received our license.

Once March 23rd came Trenton and I had the crazy idea of not pushing back our "actual" chapel wedding and just having our full wedding in my sisters backyard. Of course, Trenton was on board with the whole saving money and having an intimate ceremony so it was up to me to decide if I could be okay with this. I prayed about this for a little bit and trusted the people around me to help me not have a breakdown while I was trying to make a HUGE decision. We finally decided that we were going to have a backyard wedding with just family and push our honeymoon to the next summer. It was very exciting and sad all in the same. I knew that having this wedding meant a lot of my family, including my grandparents, were not going to be able to come. Thankfully someone had the brilliant idea to Facebook Live the wedding so everyone could watch it. Now onto the preparation to have a wedding in 6 days!

The Preparation

Trenton and I had decided on March 30, 2020 for our wedding date. But of course it was supposed to rain on the 30th so we had to keep watching the weather and 4 days before the wedding we changed the date to March 29th. I was scheduled to work March 27th, 28th, and 29th so I could not physically be there to help out with the backyard or much of the preparation. This was hard to accept because I felt like my wedding was being decided for me, but now looking back on it I know that it was definitely part of Gods plan because I am a perfectionist. The list of things to get done so this wedding could happen was long and a lot of it seemed too far fetched. We needed to clear the yard, buy decorations, pick up my wedding dress and Trenton's suit, make sure we got refunds, find catered food, find someone to do my hair and makeup and pray that it doesn't rain! SO many things came together for us that is beyond our earthly doing. We did not hit as many snags as we thought and the whole time Trenton was reminding me that God is in control of this wedding and ultimately in control of our marriage.

My wedding dress was finished with alterations the day before they closed down. My wonderful sister, Caiti, volunteered to do my makeup and hair along with Morgan. My family and Trenton's family worked together the whole week and made the backyard look so beautiful. My brother-in-law and sister, Morgan, worked so hard to make sure everything was done on time and looked up to par. They worked every day while I couldn't be there and made the decisions for me that my sister knew I didn't care to make. My parents helped find decorations that made the wedding feel more special and elegant on top of making sure I felt involved. My husband had blisters on every one of his fingers from doing yard work. He kept me up to date on everything that was going on at my sisters house and helped make decisions for us (since that is not my specialty). It seemed like everything was falling into place like it was a part of Gods plan or something (duh, Bailey).

Here are some before pictures of the backyard!

Wedding Day

The morning of the wedding day I woke up by myself in my sisters house at around 8am. It had thunderstormed earlier in the morning and the grass was soaking wet. I was praying that the sun would come out to soak up the standing water so I would actually be able to walk in the grass in my white dress by 7:45pm. The plan for the day was for me to relax and wait for the rest of the family to get here while my brother-in-law and sister ran around completing final tasks. Trenton could not leave his apartment located outside the house so we would avoid the risk of us seeing eachother before the altar. My sister had set up an elegant bridal suite for me in the living room that I was to stay in for the day unless I was needed elsewhere. My in-laws had brought the food for Trenton and I to eat on throughout the day and helped with anything around the house. My stepdad made our wedding cake and arrived around noon along with my mom and younger sister. After they had arrived it was time to start getting ready. I had to paint my own nails because everything had shut down and this was honestly the most frustrating thing about the day. I suck at painting my fingers and it literally took me an hour or more to do it. But I was doing pretty good since that was my biggest complaint.

Around 2pm the balloon arch had arrived and I had to coordinate with Trenton about who's turn it was to go outside and see all of the decorations. My sisters helped me set out the lanterns and Trenton and his brother, Taylor, helped set up the chairs and form the aisle. An hour later my other sister, Caiti, arrived and started working on my makeup. I've never had my makeup done by someone else and this was so much fun! I was a bit nervous because I hardly wear makeup as it is and I didn't want to look like a completely different person on my wedding day. I don't even know why I was worried because Caiti made me look so flawless even when I had broken out that week (of course). All the rest of my family had started to arrive and get ready and it was becoming so much more real. It wasn't just a little get together that we had thrown together in my sisters backyard. People were coming to watch ME get married to the best person I know and I was definitely getting nervous.

Once my hair was done and everyone was ready it was time to put on my dress. When I got it on I met my dad in the dining room for his look at me before we walked. This is always so emotional for almost every girl and it is such a moment that you hold so close to your heart. Even though it is not the last time you'll need your dad it feels as though you are no longer under his wing and are now a part of a different family. Which in some part is true, but things don't change that quickly haha. After my mom prayed over me, everyone took their places outside and the music began. My sisters walked down the aisle with only one groomsmen to meet them due to the restrictions and my sisters fiance was live recording the entire wedding for my Facebook friends and family to see. Once I heard the music begin my dad and I started walking down the aisle and around the corner where everyone would see me. Everyone thinks this moment is so perfect and without flaw, but my veil got caught TWO times right as everyone saw me and it was pretty funny! My dad helped my veil and then ran back to me making sure that things would still go smoothly (I have the best family). And then I had finally made it to Trenton. It felt like such a journey to get to the aisle and finally be facing him. SO many things had changed from our previous plans and it felt like our day was never going to happen. A lot of trust in God and a wonderful, faithful fiance helped make this moment happen and I am still in shock at everything. Trenton and I both wrote vows to each other and read them aloud (the video is on my facebook page). This moment felt so raw and I was able to completely wrap myself in it and hear what he was saying to me. This was another huge blessing to me because I had no fear in what we were doing and was able to be present and react genuinely. The ceremony seemed so short to me and before I knew it I was kissing my husband and walking back down the aisle.

Once we could catch our breath we headed back out to the party and began our first dance together. It was such a magical moment of dancing under the lights and the tulip tree that was in full bloom. We then proceeded with the mother-son and father-daughter dances which were so very special. Once those were finished pictures were taken and the food setup was beginning. Trenton and I had ordered fajitas with a ton of chips, salsa, queso and guacamole. There's not a better combination if you ask us! It was around this time that I realized that I had walked down the aisle without my bouquet. The bouquet that I had made the night before with fake eucalyptus leaves and hydrangas. There was nothing that was going to make me sad on this day and especially not flowers so I just laughed.

After Trenton's amazing toast where he personally talked about all of my parents and everyone who had helped, we were off to our apartment. We decided to spend our first night together in our apartment and then head out to East Texas for our cabin in the woods. We spent 4 days at the cabin and had such a great experience. The crazy thing about this is that I never even had to ask off of work. My wedding had just popped up on the calendar and everything conveniently worked out. This experience was like none other. I knew weddings were memorable, but I never knew it would be this enjoyable and so last minute. I could never thank all of the people that helped us enough. It was so much better than what we couldv'e planned and it was all because we listened to what God was wanting for us. I can say that I have no regrets for doing my wedding this way and never will. With that being said it is heart-wrenching at times when I see other peoples weddings take place as they planned and getting to enjoy bachelorette party's and wedding showers. Those are the times I have to remind myself that everyone has a different story and I am beyond grateful for ours. It was perfect because it wasn't our plans, but Gods.

I left some pictures below for you to enjoy from our wedding day thanks to Evan Luecke Photography and our video from our talented videographer.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/cdf35b_84339e78966844f8bd25f64af64b19fd/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

xoxo, Bailey Phelps

Here is the LINK for my Mixbooks wedding book.