ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — When Chelsea Hynes and Brett Swidinsky started planning for their spring wedding back in January, the COVID-19 virus seemed like a world away. That's because it was. In the early part of 2020, the virus was still largely situated in Wuhan, China.
Even as the calendar crept toward their April 3 date, the virus still seemed like something that wouldn’t touch this province. There were some cases in British Columbia, but still nothing in the eastern half of the country.
The couple kept checking and even 20 days ago, vendors assured them they weren’t affected by any precautions to help curtail the spread of the virus and everything was good to go.
Plan A was a ceremony in St. John’s with a total of 15 guests plus a justice of the peace. Swidinsky is from Winnipeg, and his family were all set to fly in for the ceremony.
“We never thought that (the coronavirus) would get here,” said Hynes. “It never crossed our minds.”
Then their wedding plans changed.
As the threat of the coronavirus started ramping up, the couple asked Swidinsky’s family if they were comfortable travelling between provinces.
They weren’t and it was completely understandable.
However, this wasn’t the only change. As the threat of the coronavirus reached the province, the government put measures in place to help limit its spread.
Those limits included no gatherings of more than five people for weddings and funerals (funerals are now not permitted at all), physical distancing was put in place and any businesses not deemed essential were limited in their availability.
“It's definitely been an interesting adventure for us,” said Hynes.
Whether to proceed
Krista Boland and Matthew Kennedy live in Mobile and got engaged last February. Unlike Hynes and Swidinsky, Boland and Kennedy have a big wedding planned for July 17. They were anticipating between 250 and 300 guests for the reception at the Father Peter Golden Parish Hall in Trepassey — the wedding ceremony is set to take place in her hometown of Renews.
"We planned on having a big bay wedding," said Boland. "That's what we were looking forward to. We both have very big families and a large group of friends."
Choosing the date was not easy, as they both work offshore, as do other members of their families, and they had to work around multiple schedules. A gathering of that magnitude also involves a lot of vendors requiring down payments.
"The invites literally went out the week before all of this started," Boland said. "There were a few I was actually going to hand deliver, and once this all started happening, I wasn't very comfortable going around to places and handing them out."
Adjusting plans
Despite everything, Hynes and Swidinsky decided to push on with their wedding this week. Their small wedding got even smaller — not even Hynes’ mother will be present, although she is making the cake — as the pair decided to get married outside on the west coast of the island with just a pair of witnesses and a justice.
The ceremony will be streamed live over Facebook, giving family and friends the chance to see the proceedings happen in real time.
“Everyone is really happy they’re going to be a part of it by watching it on Facebook,” said Swidinsky. “Everyone is still going to get to see it.
“Everyone is still going to get to FaceTime us after and talk to us after and still be with us in that sense.”
It will also give Hynes the chance to meet with her grandmother at a local retirement home in Stephenville, albeit through a door, and give her a chance to see the bride in her dress. That wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
After the ceremony, they will meet with a friend to take photos. The couple will make their meal together.
“It's going to be a day that is all about us and we’re going to spend a lot of good time together and make some good memories,” said Swidinsky.
Potential postponement
Meanwhile, Boland is taking it day-by-day when it comes to her wedding plans. The prospects of a delay seem likely. On Wednesday, provincial Health Minister John Haggie told media he wouldn't anticipate seeing things return to normal by the July 1 Canada Day holiday.
Boland and Kennedy have not discussed yet whether they would consider holding a five-person ceremony, as it would leave out so many people they looked forward to sharing the moment with.
"It would be kind of hard to have something like that and not have them there," Boland said.
While she knows they could ultimately just look to pick another date, that may be easier said than done. At this point, she knows there were plenty of people already planning 2021 weddings before the pandemic hit the province. She's a member of a Facebook group for brides in Newfoundland and Labrador and knows there are lots of couples in situations similar to her own.
"I've been reading a lot of people's comments. There's brides now in May and June postponing their weddings and looking at alternative dates ... If I wanted to try and find another date, then there's also these other brides trying to find dates as well."
Boland anticipates there may come a time when they will have to consider whether they want to postpone and find a new date. She would then need to contact her vendors to see what could be worked out.
"These days for wedding planning, it's crazy how much things get booked up so far in advance," she said. "I know a few of the vendors I have are booked into 2021, 2022 already."
