In China, large gatherings including weddings remain suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some couples are no longer willing to wait for the resumption of normal activities to follow through with their nuptials. One Chinese netizen couple, decided to get married in an online game called Final Fantasy.

The couple, who go by web names Jigen and Nora, planned their wedding for May 17. It should have been at a hotel in Shanghai. However, due to the COVID-19 complications, they decided that they would cancel the ceremony.

While their original plans were forced to be called off, they quickly decided on a new plan. They would get married on an online game called Final Fantasy.

“The idea of having a wedding as an online game was not sudden. We are crazy about games and many close friends also play games together, so after thinking for a while, we decided to celebrate our wedding online,” Jigen told Global Times.

On May 17, the online wedding commenced. They invited over 30 of their friends to attend and the entire thing was livestreamed using a Chinese broadcasting platform for those who were not account holders in the game.

Those attending the wedding were required to arrive at the cathedral in a timely manner. To ensure this happened, the couple assisted their guests in beating online enemies and took them to the cathedral in the game. Jigen joked that the real meaning of friendship is when people “risk their lives” to attend your wedding.

Once everyone had virtually arrived and the special moment came, the couple exchanged rings in front of their computers and played the ceremony out in the game.

“After spending two weeks preparing the wedding in the game, including buying costumes for game characters, my wife and I wore our pajamas sitting in front of two computers in the study, and she did not even have any makeup on during the whole ceremony,” Jigen  told the Global Times.

The pair have no intentions of having a “real” wedding in the future. Jigen told Global Times that a wedding simply symbolises a new beginning, and to him the Final Fantasy wedding did just that.

Picture: Screenshot from wedding video

Back in 2002, Anne McGowan was on her way to her mountaintop wedding in Arizona. But having to reroute to their spot because of wildfires, the couple realised they would have to hike up a mountain to get there.

“I wanted to get married on a vista because we rock climb and hike a lot so that was sort of our ideal wedding. The night before the wedding, the photographer called us and said there were fires and that they had to close off the access to where we were going to be married,” McGowan told AZ Family.

“I get out of the car, and we realized we were at a bottom of a mountain instead of like, on the top. I had wedding shoes on and a dress because initially, we were going to pull up into a parking lot and jump out and have the ceremony there. So we’re just looking up like, how are we going to get up this mountain? In tuxedos and sandals and a wedding dress?”

Lucky for her, a group of hikers passed them and a kindhearted lady offered the bride her hiking boots. She took the boots and was able to hike safely to the spot.

Now, 18 years later, McGowan decided to try and find the heroic hiker who saved her on her wedding day. On the day of her 18th wedding anniversary, she posted a picture taken of them on Facebook and it quickly went viral. Rhonda Nelson, the one and only hiker, eventually saw the photo, and contacted the bride!

Nelson explained the act of kindness: “It’s a hiking creed almost; you do good things for other people on the trail. What really moved me was that Anne really wanted to reach out and say thank you and that also, this meant so much to her,” Nelson said to AZ Family.

The two arranged a Zoom meeting to say hi, and plan to stay in touch.

Feature image: Unsplash

Many beautiful brides-to-be and their partners were looking forward to celebrating their wedding day in early 2020, until the COVID-19 lockdown altered their plans.

The House of J.C Le Roux understands how easy it is for even the most fun-loving and optimistic bridal couple to lose their sparkle when wedding plans fall through. In an effort to banish the bridal blues, the renowned sparkling wine-brand has launched  #JCSilverLinings – because in the world of J.C Le Roux there is always a silver lining.

Brand Manager Michelle Michael explains, “The House of J.C. Le Roux understands how difficult the lockdown has been for everyone and recognises all the little things South Africans have been doing to stay positive.  Our team has been keeping a keen eye on the social media scene and recognise the efforts of brides and grooms-to-be across the country to remain upbeat.  The #JCSilverLinings campaign aims to surprise and delight 200 disappointed bridal couples who have had to postpone their weddings due to lock down with the little silver lining they need.”

One of these bridal couples – Carly Fillis (33) and Nathan Goodall (35) – shared their story of the postponement of their wedding day on social media, which was spotted by the J.C. Le Roux team.  The pair from Johannesburg spent months planning their perfect, fairy tale wedding which they envisaged as an intimate and informal outdoor event that would reflect their light-hearted and relaxed approach to life.  However, they had to put this dream on hold when lock down was announced in March, as the wedding date was set for 8 May.

Their story is one that touches the heart. They first met in 2014 when Carly showed up at Nathan’s 29^th birthday party. As it turns out, his sister happened to be a good friend of Carly’s and Nathan had secretly set his sights on her four years before. The spark was ignited that evening and when he asked her out on a date, the mutual attraction led to more time spent together as a couple. Love blossomed and five years later, on 12 April 2019, he popped the question and they set their wedding date. ‘We were destined to be together, and this is a bump in the road we just need to get over,’ says Fillis.

‘I wasn’t expecting anything, and I was feeling ‘kinda blue’ when the call came in to let us know we were chosen to receive a hamper from J.C. Le Roux. We were both overjoyed and did a little dance around the living room,’ she laughs.

Marketing Manager Nicola Coubrough says the stories shared on social media by bridal couples that have encountered similar disappointment have touched their hearts.  ‘To  those couples who have had to cancel their wedding because of lock down, this is our small way of saying it will soon be your time to sparkle.  We hope our hampers give them a reason to celebrate while they wait for the moment they will walk down the aisle on the most important day of their lives together.’’

Bridal couples across the country will be delighted to know that there is yet another surprise silver lining on the horizon courtesy of the House of J.C. Le Roux, to be revealed on social media later in the month.

Watch this space.

Anyone who would like to be part of the #JCSilverLinings action on social media can follow J.C. Le Roux on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Check out ther website here: www.jcleroux.co.za

Feature image: supplied