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

Many couples are facing the disappointment of having to cancel or postpone their weddings due to the coronavirus pandemic. While some are planning to simply wait until the health crisis blows over, others are finding creative ways around the problem.

With the forced cancellation of their wedding, Sharmin Asha and Nazmul Ahmed had to get past the disappointment. They decided they would start playing the popular Nintendo game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. While they played, Ahmed had an idea.

He put together a surprise in-game wedding for his wife-to-be. “Nazmul invited me over to collect resources [on his island] since he had been playing longer than me. As soon as I got there, he was at the airport and there were arrows on the ground. He told me there was some special in-game event, so we followed them,” said Asha to The Washington Post.

As they followed the arrows, Asha collected virtual flowers that Ahmed left for her. At the end of the path she found a beach, where her friends waited with their own Animal Crossing characters.

Ahmed told The Washington Post that the entire thing took him four to five hours to set up. He said that their friends were happy to get on board with his plan, since they already played the game.

Of course, this is not a replacement for the New Jersey couple’s wedding but it has served as a great way to celebrate what would have been their wedding date.

Ahmed and Asha are not the only ones to have celebrated their nuptials this way. A host of other couples have made their way to Animal Crossing too as it serves as a proxy for real-world social interaction.

Image: Twitter / GoNintendoTweet

The 21-day lockdown in South Africa to curb the spread of coronavirus has effectively brought social gatherings of any kind to a halt during this time. However, some people don’t take the lockdown seriously and continue to go about life as normal.

A couple in Nseleni, KwaZulu-Natal decided that their wedding day would still go forward, despite the government banning unnecessary social gatherings.

According to SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo, about 50 people gathered to witness the big day. The police received a tip-off that the wedding was happening and showed up to break it up.

The bridal couple were caught red-handed and in a video, they can be seen getting into the back of a police vehicle.

They arrested them ?????? pic.twitter.com/J1U2YueSax

— NdimhleFcukedUp (@JackDevero) April 5, 2020

Wedding ends with an arrest #lockdown #LockdownSA #CONVID19 pic.twitter.com/UfslcMkEdw

— Cardinal Ndiks Gatsheni (@Ndiks17) April 5, 2020

#CityOfuMhlathuze More than 50 people arrested in a wedding at Nseleni outside Richards Bay today for contravening the #COVID2019 #lockdown regulations @ZOPublications @GCIS_KZN @ecr9495 @ukhozi_fm @eNCA @SAPoliceService @Sandford_Police @SALGA_Gov l pic.twitter.com/NaMagUWpUg

— uMhlathuze (@UmhlathuzeM) April 5, 2020

Naidoo says the couple have contravened the Disaster Management Act, and everyone that was present will be questioned.

“People are still taking chances, not realising the seriousness of this virus,”  Naidoo said.

“The prosecutor will guide us on exactly which charges will be preferred against them. I don’t think we can be expecting any explanation from them at this point in time unless we have spoken to the senior prosecutor.”

Feature image: Twitter