As the coronavirus pandemic worsens all over the world, healthcare workers are spending more and more of their time at hospitals. On what was meant to be their wedding day, these two doctors turned their workplace into an impromptu wedding venue.

Dr. Shelun Tsai, an OBGYN resident at Duke University Hospital, and Dr. Michael Sun, a resident in Duke Psychiatry’s program, were scheduled to tie the knot on Saturday, April 11 in North Carolina.

The couple have been engaged since 2016 but had to postpone their wedding amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, their colleagues at Duke University Hospital made sure that what would have been their wedding day was still a special moment.

“They knew I’d postponed my wedding but people didn’t realize it was that day until I was there [at work] and I said it was supposed to be April 11,” Tsai told Good Morning America. “It started out small, that they wanted to make me a wedding dress, then it was a veil, then flowers and then it became everyone chipping in and jumping onboard.”

“They literally started at 8 a.m. and in between patient care they’d get bits of stuff done and then had the ceremony at 3 p.m.”

Their coworkers set up a room where Sun and Tsai could have a special ‘first look’ moment. Tsai then walked down the aisle in a wedding gown her colleagues had fashioned out of paper.

A nurse ‘officiated’ the 15-minute ceremony, which was broadcast live on Zoom to the couple’s family and friends.

2 @dukesom residents had a @zoom_us wedding at @DukeHospital Birthing Center today! The ceremony commemorated what would have been their big day in NYC. Fam & friends virtually watched @dukeobgyn resident Shelun Tsai exchange vows w/ @DukePsychiatry resident Michael Sun ? ? ? pic.twitter.com/p8RKwBXBWA

— Duke OB/GYN (@dukeobgyn) April 11, 2020

When your co-resident’s wedding has been thrown off by COVID-19, you don your best PPE for a hospital ceremony @dukeobgyn pic.twitter.com/t6jAvhSonZ

— Luke Gatta, MD (@gattago) April 11, 2020

Following the ceremony, Tsai and Sun rode off in style on a hospital transportation cart decorated with “Just Married” signs as their getaway car.

“It was absolutely amazing,” Tsai said of the ceremony. “Every day I feel like we take care of our patients and we’re always so thoughtful and love what we do and to see that [my colleagues] also care so much about us and the things that mean so much to us, it was really touching.”

“They’re really my work family and we really try to take care of each other,” she said.

With the coronavirus outbreak, many are stuck at home with little to do. In an effort to entertain themselves while still maintaining social distancing, these fun neighbours posed for a creative wedding shoot.

Five neighbours in Georgetown, Texas donned their old wedding dresses to partake in a photoshoot they’ve dubbed ‘Wedding dress Wednesday’.

Behind the lens was professional photographer Elyssa Seibel, who came up with the idea along with the ‘brides’, Jamie Egloff, Bryce Ellerbroek, Shannon Thomas, Nina Wagner and Jaime Sladek.

“Nina decided that a fancy wine night was exactly what she needed and so she proceeded to put on her wedding dress and take a picture of it—and let me tell you, she had a blast,” Seibel explained to Good Morning America. “After a few glasses of wine, she decided to call it ‘Wedding Dress Wednesday’ and that’s when my photographer brain snapped on. I asked in our group chat how many of the women could come outside in their wedding dresses to take photos, and no one hesitated.”

The photoshoot was a fun way for the women, who are all good friends, to get together in a safe way and take their minds off the current crisis.

“There is a lot of disappointing news right now… so just being able to get out on the street and see each other as we’ve never seen each other before was a really good feeling. It was so ridiculous but it brought a lot of joy,” said Jaime Sladek.

“I think we take for granted, the little bit of human interaction we get each day,” Seibel added. “Even just walking down the street and saying hi to a neighbor. This definitely puts a lot of things into perspective, to be able to not only give ourselves a laugh and a little break from the stress of this crisis. I think the goal is to find as much happiness as possible in all this craziness. We’re all in this together and all helping each other find ways to cope.”

Feature image: A Joy Story Photography – https://www.ajoystoryphotography.com/

Some couples will certainly not allow the coronavirus pandemic to stand in their way. From Animal Crossing weddings, to cardboard guests and even risking arrest, people whose weddings have been ruined by the outbreak are stopping at nothing. 

In Melbourne, Australia, a different solution is rising in popularity. Nine News Australia reported that “Drive thru weddings are giving couples a chance to tie the knot amid the crisis.” Since there are several restrictions placed on weddings due to the coronavirus, this has emerged as a way around.

Couples are able to get married for around 400 Australian Dollars (R4 489) with a company called ‘I Do Drive Thru’.

The company offers legal weddings in a drive-thru format. They follow all restriction rules and offer a refund if the wedding is not carried out. According to I Do Drive Thru, couples can arrive by foot, bike, or car. Additionally, if the couple would prefer to choose a special location, the company will meet them there and they are still allowed to remain in the car.

Of course, many would wonder why this is necessary. Why not just wait until the health crisis is over? I Do Drive Thru took to Instagram to explain.

“There are many reasons why couples want to marry during this time, it’s not only for love, it’s also to be able to advocate for each other for medical reasons, comply with visa requirements and also to avoid any conflict around wills and estates. Marriage is an essential service and we have created the I Do Drive Thru in order to protect our couples and ourselves during this time of COVID,” they said.

It definitely is a creative way around a problem that has many people stumped.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-th2cbhn3O/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-sPgWgBV4-/

Image: Youtube / Nine News Australia (Screenshot)

Lockdown restrictions in Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus outbreak began, are being relaxed after 76 days and allowing its citizens more access to facilities and services. One of the first things people want to do now? Get married, apparently.

According to Chinese tech platform Alipay, there was a 300% increase in traffic on the local marriage application system they run, which caused a temporary logjam that has since been fixed.

Applications on the site have been suspended throughout February and March as residents observed the government-sanctioned lockdown.

With restrictions now being eased, Wuhan can expect a marriage boom in the upcoming months.

This rush stands in strict contract to the high rates of divorce Wuhan experienced during the lockdown. The lockdown has revealed cracks in relationships of many couples who were forced to spend too much time together or were separated during quarantine, leading to many opting to split up

One good thing about the lockdown is it really made people realise who they want to, or don’t want to, be with.

Feature image: Unsplash

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, weddings as we know them are being forcibly put on hold. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t tie the knot at all. Across the globe, lovers are getting creative and turning to technology to allow their closest friends and family to still bear witness to their big day from the comfort of their own homes.

Weddings have now become online affairs, with many couples choosing video conferencing app Zoom as their online service of choice. Zoom has now partnered up with online wedding planner Wedfuly to help couples virtually tie the knot with ease. This service allows for an interactive online wedding experience.

“Wedfuly always provides creative approaches for our couples so the collaboration with Zoom was ideal for couples who wanted to keep their wedding date on schedule during these challenging times,” founder and CEO of Wedfuly, Caroline Creidenberg said to Brides.

Essentially, the service handles all the technical gruntwork. They create a timeline for the couple and virtual guests and control the entire virtual experience. Guests are muted and unmuted throughout the ceremony and given cues to applaud when needed.

Couples, however, still need to consider their own in-state laws and secure an in-person wedding officiant and physical witnesses for the marriage to be legally binding.

While having a virtual wedding may seem unconventional, it is a product of our current time. This service also allows families and friends far apart to connect again and share in a special moment. It’s fair to say that moments of happiness and positivity are necessary as we struggle with the uncertainty of life at the moment.

Feature image: Pexels

With the current lockdown in place in South Africa to stop the spread of coronavirus, weddings aren’t the big events we know them to be.  As large gatherings are banned,  Cape Town film-maker Dan Mace got crafty to make sure the seats at their backyard wedding were still filled without breaking any lockdown rules.

Mace and his fiancée, Gabrielle Esterhuizen, had planned on tying the knot but their wedding was unfortunately cancelled amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Shortly after, Mace contracted COVID-19, meaning the pair had to stay shut inside for weeks as he battled the symptoms. After making a full recovery, Dan still wanted to go through with their wedding, albeit it on a much smaller scale.

He devised a sweet plan to surprise Esterhuizen with an impromptu wedding in their backyard. He made rings out of guitar strings, built an altar and spent all night creating cardboard cutouts of “guests” to witness their wedding. In the morning, he surprised his love.

We spoke to the couple about their wedding that was cancelled and how the ingenious backyard celebration came about.

“Our wedding was planned for 21st March, the same day we found out Dans test result. We were looking forward to our afternoon wedding in Stellenbosch. I think the most special thing was having a day we could share just the 2 of us, we know the bride and groom are usually busy the night so to be able to share this day was incredible. Just to celebrate with all our family and friends in one space,” said Esterhuizen.

Mace explained to us how his idea came about.

“I think the idea came from something that I probably would have chosen to keep more personal between Gabs and I.

“But the reason I decided to create a film about is because the world needs positivity right now and I really wanted to share a positive story about two people in love. It’s something that is relatable.

“With the right idea you can still create the same sensation as a big wedding with lots of people all around. With some creativity and thinking outside the box you can do something that is even more special than a generic wedding. Through utilising creativity and restriction you can make something really awesome.”

Mace continued, “I wanted to showcase ways to be creative during lockdown and I think it combined itself with the question I asked Gabs on camera about how she felt about postponing the wedding. I hadn’t asked her that before and had assumed that it made her bummed. Once I heard her say it though I knew I had to do something about it.”

Take a look at their big day below:

Feature image: video screenshot