My dearest #CovidBrides,

What a freaking rollercoaster! Amiright?

It wasn't supposed to play out like this. Usually you get engaged, engagement bliss hits, wedding planning craziness begins, and then boom, the most magical day happens -- the big day -- your wedding day. But then the big C arrived in 2020 and nothing about wedding planning was the same. Like so many couples of 2020, we had to pivot fast from what we originally planned. With pandemic concerns and our loved one's safety top of mind, our big destination wedding scheduled for August 2020 in Portugal was no longer a reality.

We had to pivot. I remember being so frustrated and sad, but also trying to remind myself how lucky we were. All in all, we were healthy, our family and friends were safe, we had jobs. We went from feeling grateful to then feeling guilty for being sad and so defeated. The whirlwind of emotions was SO real.

It was during our many moments of panic (mostly mine -- I call it the 2020 meltdown), that we realized we kept coming back to the same thing. We had each other and, although our day would look completely different, we weren't going to give up on it. All that mattered was that we were together and that we celebrated our union somehow, someway, somewhere.

It took lots of deep breaths and perseverance, but we finally decided to elope on our original wedding date in Lake Tahoe. Just us two, no one else. Was it difficult to overcome the thought of not having our loved ones with us? Absolutely. But we knew that, no matter what, we were going to have to sacrifice something because the pandemic was not going away any time soon. The question became... What are you willing to sacrifice to celebrate your love?

Our elopement, our plan B, was quite literally the most magical day of our lives. In just a few weeks we pulled together a rockstar team - the best photographer/elopement specialist (Ruthanne Z), hair and makeup artist (Jireh Artistry) and wedding officiant (Meredith Richmond).

With the help of our team, that day was ours, and only ours. No one knew about it, no one could judge our decision, and no one could take it away from us. It was drastically different than anything we ever imagined, but it was perfect in every single way. Looking back, we wouldn't have changed a thing and we couldn't have dreamed of a better day!

All this is to say, whatever you do, don't give up. Please! Don't be afraid to pivot. Maybe eloping isn't the right fit for you, but maybe an intimate backyard wedding is? Maybe it's going to the park with your parents or hiking a mountain with your friends? Whatever your new day will look like, I encourage you to continue fighting. Fight for the celebration of your love. I promise you, it will be worth every second.

With all my love,

2020 Covid Bride

Kelly Le Mildfelt