Wedding Inspiration

A Perfectly Imperfect Corona Wedding Filled with So Much Love

September 3

This corona wedding was, as said beautifully by the bride herself, “sweet, filled with SO much love, and looking back, it was simply perfectly imperfect.” Marisela and Josey are known for making the best out of bad situations – so when it came to their wedding day, they knew even in the midst of everything, it would still be their “best day ever.” Gathered together with eight of their closets family members, they met to become husband and wife, and for Marisela to officially become a May (in May!). Having a positive mindset through it all helped Marisela make it through the stress, and as she said, “Nothing in life will come easy and nothing in life will be perfect. You simply do the best with what God gives you – so we did.”

Lovely light pink and industrial gold metal accents simply made this wedding scene gorgeous. Tablescapes with big and bright white orchids and lush greenery stood out against a pale blush table runner and white linen. Marisela looked as beautiful as ever in her stunning flowy bridal gown with lace floral details from WED Bridal Boutique and her bridal glam look by Grand Slam Glam of a low bun updo with soft curls, and a natural makeup look with a soft pink lip. Our favorite part of this day has to be their corona-themed photos, featured below. Scroll to read all the details about how this couple met and how their corona wedding day came to be – we promise it’s worth the read! Cheers!

Photo // Rachel Maegan Photography

From the bride: “May 8, 2020, will forever be OUR date. I chose love, happiness, and I chose to become a May. I couldn’t be happier to be his wife!

We met when we were 14 years old and instantly became friends, but only started dating when we were both 18 – since February 2012. Luckily, we attended the same university together and both majored in biology and chemistry. But it wasn’t until we studied abroad together in 2014 that I started to realize that he was in fact the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. We were somewhere in Paris, trying to navigate our location to get to our next stop, attempting to take the tube system without completely getting lost, and trying to decode the majestic foreign French language all at the same time. At some point in the chaos, I stopped and just looked at him, and he looked at me. In the middle of a train station I realized that this life will be crazy and unexpected, but as long as I have Josey by my side, everything will be okay. We are always good at making the best out of a bad situation. So when the virus broke out, there was something in my gut that assured me everything will be just fine.

Of course, we were forced to postpone our 150+ guest wedding. There aren’t too many words to describe the feeling you get when you are forced to cancel all wedding plans a month before the big day, and at the time I wasn’t sure how we were going to handle it.

This season of our life was extremely hard. It’s hard to accept the reality of this virus. It’s hard to be okay with all the changes. It’s hard to not allow it to affect you. And it is especially hard to not fall into fear. But after all of this, we just wanted to be together. After eight years of patiently waiting and working for this day, we persisted with a wedding and solely did it for us.

Nothing in life will come easy and nothing in life will be perfect. You simply do the best with what God gives you… So we did.

We had a small ceremony of eight at our venue and lit a candle for Josey’s Father, Eddy May, who passed when Josey was just eight years old. Then a small reception dinner in my mother-in-law’s front yard joined by our childhood friends. It was sweet, filled with SO much love, and looking back, it was simply perfectly imperfect.

I did not have my nails done, my dress didn’t fit (because quarantine and closed gyms), Josey did not have his suit, my brother became a registered officiant days before, we drove two hours to obtain a marriage license in Hood County before all courts closed, our honeymoon to Greece was cancelled, immediate family members couldn’t be there because of corona, 150 guest list dropped down to only eight, and so on and so on…. By no means was this my ideal wedding day. But at the end of this day, we were married and had a first dance on the top of a parking garage in Sundance Square with our song playing from the car speaker right before we headed home.

God gave me a strong man to walk life with and an amazing family to teach me how to be fearless, which I am truly thankful for. Without those two factors, I would have not been able to do this confidently. But God also gave me the chance at a second wedding date later this year, so I’ll happily take that one too and be extra thankful for it and celebrate as we would have on May 8. But for now, we will make our own wedding rules and do what’s best for us – together.”