Once again humans are showing that during times of difficulty, we can come together even in the smallest of ways. Those who have missed their wedding dates as a result of the pandemic are being creative with their backup celebrations, and this wedding DJ wanted to play his part.

Chris Bouchard, a Maine-based wedding DJ, has come up with another solution to make isolation weddings more meaningful. He has decided he will stream “Virtual Wedding Mixes” every Friday at 8pm. Couples can have their first dance, or have a dance party with their guests attending via Zoom, to the music solution that Bouchard is providing.

The Virtual Wedding Mixes will be streamed on Facebook, Twitch, Youtube, and other streaming services.

In a Facebook post, Bouchard expressed his sympathy for those who have had to cancel their wedding ceremonies. “This breaks our hearts,” he said.

“We want to provide couples from all over to join us live, every Friday, at 8pm to enjoy live wedding mixes. Dance the night away, make live requests, maybe enjoy a slow dance [or two] to some of the songs you would have had at your wedding reception in 2020,” he continued.

Bouchard noted that while – of course – nothing can replace the wedding reception, he and his team would like to provide listeners with some joy and to help them to forget about the negative impacts of coronavirus, even just for a moment.

“Every Friday night starting May 8, 2020 we will be celebrating with all of the couples that are still getting married and want to celebrate – or the couples that are putting everything off for another year and want to have a good time, too,” he said.

For professionals such as Bouchard, this time is exceptionally tough as they are losing their main, if not only, source of income. Bouchard told News Centre Maine that if things are slow to open and get pushed to August or September he could easily lose all of his income for this year.

Looking at it from this perspective, Bouchards gesture is even more meaningful.

Image: Unsplash

Couples determined to marry amid the coronavirs pandemic have been forced to get creative with their nuptials. One pair opted for a unique drive-in movie theatre as the perfect location to bring the love and encourage social distancing.

Bri and Lindsey Leaverton from Austin, Texas were meant to marry on April 10, 2020. However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic threw a spanner in the works.

“We had everything planned down to a tee,” Lindsey told Buzzfeed News. “We were supposed to get married on 4.10.20, Good Friday, because nothing says, ‘Happy Easter’ like a good old lesbian wedding.”

Their wedding planner then came up with the idea of having the wedding at a  drive-in movie theatre, which will allow more guests and follow social distancing rules.

They settled on Doc’s Drive In Theatre in nearby Buda, Texas, which was marked as an essential service and thus allowed to remain open as they also serve food for pickup.

They tied the knot on April 28, with about 85 cars of guests in attendance. Guests stayed in their cars for the entire event. They also decorated their cars in celebration, and showed up in their pajamas as per the brides’ requests.Guests were served champagne and popcorn by theatre staff wearing gloves and face masks.

The ceremony was livestreamed on the two theatre screens, as well as on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube so that those not in attendance could still witness the big day.

Following the ceremony, musician Lindsey surprised her new wife with an original song.

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While the wedding was not was they had originally envisioned, it was still a special day they will cherish forever.

“It was above and beyond anything we could’ve dreamed of,” Lindsey told Buzzfeed News. ”I’m so glad it happened the way it did. Our whole theme has been: we’re making some really tasty lemonade out of some really rotten lemons.”

Feature image: Instagram

Weddings are changing more and more as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing. Couples are finding ways to ensure their nuptials continue. Livestreaming is a great option for couples want their guests to attend, but what about couples who still want a bridal party?

This couple from Cincinnati, Ohio, came up with the perfect solution. Autumn Wood and Christian Miller used their dogs as bridesmaids.

“Our dogs Sasha and Oreo were my stand in bridesmaids and although they were very good and didn’t bark at all, they totally stole the show!” said Wood to MetroUK.

Taking place in their back yard, the couple’s wedding incorporated everything coronavirus-wedding related. Their isolation wedding was officiated by Miller’s brother who happened to be isolating with them at their home.

A Facebook livestream kept their family and friends close while the pair tied the knot in their wedding attire and facemasks. of course, Corona beer also made an appearance on the special day.

The couple said they just couldn’t wait until the end of lockdown, so decided that this course of action would be best. While they intended to marry in May, their new date moved forward to April.

“It was perfect – it wasn’t what I planned and it didn’t go the way I had been planning for months but I wouldn’t trade it,” said Wood.

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Congrats to the happy couple!

Image: Credit: MetroUK (Autumn Wood/SWNS)

While the coronavirus pandemic has wrecked havoc in lives across the globe, it has also brought some joy. This homeless couple found love in the time of coronavirus.

Maria Cecilia Osorio and Alfonso Ardila from Colombia met at a homeless shelter in Manizales, the country’s coffee region amid their lockdown period. Osorio, 39, is a missionary, and was left without means to afford her rent as the pandemic escalated and prevented her from working. Ardila, 72, is a construction worker and lost many job opportunities as the country shut down to follow lockdown rules. He too sought refuge at the shelter after being unable to afford his rent.

The connection between the two quickly grew. “I came to this place where no one looked at me or greeted me. But here I found someone who loved me and is worried about me,” Alfonso told Reuters.

They married at the homeless shelter where they met, with two other residents acting as bridesmaids. Their fellow shelter residents helped organise the wedding.

Watch the video of their wedding here:

The pair hope to have a real honeymoon after May 11, when their country’s state of emergency is set to end. However, they are cautious, as they have no jobs to return to once they leave the shelter.

Picture: Unsplash

A few weeks ago, we told you all about LEGO couple Fred and Florence’s romantic backyard wedding. Since then, they’ve naturally followed up their big day with a fun-filled honeymoon.

Captured by creative UK-based photographer Chris Wallace of Carpe Diem Photography, Fred and Florence’s honeymoon was a thrilling one. From ziplining and surfing to cliff-diving at sunset, this was a honeymoon to remember!

Wallace was inspired to create this fun photoshoot after the coronavirus pandemic began to affect his business.

“I am a wedding photographer and overnight all my work stopped, I had no visitors to my website, and everything you read was negative. So I wanted to do something with a little bit of positivity something funny people could read and I wanted to use something everybody could relate to. I already had a few lego sets from when I was a child, and pretty much everything I needed, so decided to photograph a lego wedding, followed shortly after by the Lego Honeymoon.”

Take a look at what Fred and Florence got up to below:

“Florence and Fred had an amazing honeymoon spending quality time together,” said Chris. “They are now looking forward to replanning their cancelled holiday for next summer.  Florence has been house hunting online and is also trying to persuade Fred that they should buy or foster a dog, claiming lockdown would be a perfect time whilst they are having to work from home, Fred isnt convinced so she might have to work on him a bit longer or until one can be found on a essential weekly food shop!”

If you want to keep up with Fred and Florence, make sure to follow their Instagram page: @the.legophotographer.

All images taken by Chris Wallace of Carpe Diem Photography. Visit his website for more amazing images.

Long Island couple Sara Pagano and Brian Fenley  were meant to marry the first weekend in May but were forced to postpone due to the ongoing pandemic. Instead, they will put their time and money to good use by helping others during this unprecedented time.

“With all of the positive energy we have received from friends, family and neighbors, we want to channel that into an opportunity to celebrate love in a different but significant way and give back to help our community in need,” the pair explain on Facebook.

“Covid-19 has intensified food insecurity on Long Island, and on Saturday May 2 we are putting on our festive wedding attire and hosting a food drive to benefit Island Harvest and our local families here on LI.”

They plan to dress up, decorate their pick-up truck into a ‘wedding mobile’ and drive around their city picking up food donations for Island Harvest Food Bank.

“We haven’t really even though about ourselves. We’re worried about the fact that we’re still having jobs and money and a place to live and food,” Pagano explains. Because they are in a priviledged position, they want to do all they can to help those in need.

People wishing to donate to the food bank but cannot or do not feel safe dropping it off may sign up online. This couple will then pick up the donations and deliver it to the needy. Food insecurity has heightened amid the coronavirus pandemic, making donations even more important.

“These people are just there, they’re just trying to find out what their next meal is,” Fenley said.

“Since they cannot walk down the aisle this weekend, this amazing couple ❤️ Sara Pags and Brian Paulie ❤️ are channeling positive energy into raising food and funds for Island Harvest Food Bank to help us feed local families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We invite everyone to join these would-be newlyweds as they share the love across Long Island in helping us make sure that no one goes hungry. ❤️” wrote Island Harvest Food Bank on their Facebook page. 

Feature image: Facebook / Island Harvest Food Bank

Weddings across the globe are being postponed or cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. One American couple refused to let the COVID-19 pandemic get in the way of their nuptials.

Meryl Epstein and Mike Simmons from New York have been self-isolating in the Florida Keys since March, according to Insider. 

The couple who met through a dating app used another online platform to celebrate their wedding. The couple spoke to Insider and explained what their original wedding plans were and how these were foiled.

Simmons said: “We’ve got lots of friends who are artists and performers, and the idea was to bring a bunch of those people together in our New York City wedding.

“That kinda got switched around when everything in the world changed.”

Epstein explained that the wedding was intended to be casual and non-traditional and that the couple were scouting rooftop venues in the Big Apple.

“We were looking at more of that kind of loungy vibe, looking at different rooftops and things like that. We wanted it to be very New York and very intimate,” she said.

“Obviously our plans had to shift with the current state of events right now, with COVID-19.”

On a holiday to the Florida Keys the couple decided to rather extend their stay and self-isolate from there. The money that would have gone into the wedding has been used to finance their stay. The couple also settled on hosting a virtual wedding rather than cancelling or postponing their plans.

Simmons explained: “It was a decision to kind of rethink how we were going to make this happen in 2020, and that’s when the idea started to come up that we can do it using technology.”

The couple had also discussed the idea of eloping. They experienced the best of both worlds with their virtual wedding: a destination wedding with all their family and friends.

Their virtual wedding also meant that their guest list could include 150 people, over 22 different time zones.

The couple planned every detail as meticulously as possible. The virtual wedding, which was held over Zoom, included a dress code, speeches, live music and assigned “seating”. There was also a soundcheck, rehearsals and a “social distancing photo session” with a UK-based photographer over FaceTime beforehand.

Epstein explained that planning a virtual wedding is just as stressful as the real deal.

The couple made use of Zoom’s breakout rooms as their wedding tables. Each “table” was named after a different location in New York City. The couple had guests spend time together in smaller groups in assigned rooms after the ceremony. Guests were also given the chance to join in on the bride and groom’s room.

A photographer went from each table(breakout room) taking photos and screenshots of the occasion. The couple requested that instead of gifts, their guests donate to a New York based non-profit, City Harvest, which is feeding New Yorkers in need.

Image: Unsplash