SPOTLIGHT
CHANGE THE DATE:
THE STORIES OF JLW’S COVID-19 BRIDES Sarah Valerio
“C
hange the Dates,” “micro-weddings,” and “bridal masks” didn’t used to be common parlance among brides-to-be. COVID-19 changed that by having a profound impact on the lives of many. The pandemic has disrupted cherished milestone events, including the weddings of many JLW members. The postponement of a wedding is more than just a celebration delayed. It means putting life – including many times the hopes of starting a family or taking adventures – on hold. During a time that should be full of joy and excitement planning one of the happiest days of their lives, the Junior League of Washington’s (JLW) affianced found their plans turned upside down and their excitement turned to stress and agony. They faced the decision of whether to go forward and potentially risk the health and safety of their family, friends, and loved ones, to have a drastically different or smaller celebration, or to put their futures on hold and lose deposits, vendors, and venues.
SARAH VALERIO I write this as a COVID-19 bride myself. My fiance, Ford O’Connell, and I were engaged on January 1, 2020. At this time, still blissfully ignorant of the COVID-19 disease then largely relegated to China,
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Spring 2021
we planned our destination wedding for November 14, 2020 in Nassau, Bahamas. When the COVID-19 outbreak struck the U.S. and lockdowns began to occur in March 2020, I began to panic, but with news outlets discussing reopenings in a matter of weeks or by Easter or Memorial Day, we were relieved that our wedding wasn’t until late fall. As things worsened and the Bahamas closed their borders, we made the decision in July 2020 to postpone our wedding to March 13, 2021. This, we figured, would give the vaccine time to roll out.
We ordered and mailed out “Change the Dates,” which I had only recently learned were a thing, contacted our wedding vendors to reschedule, and amended all of our contracts with the new date. We canceled any future plans for a bridal shower or bachelor or bachelorette parties. To us, they were simply not worth the risk. At that point, we were just hoping for a wedding. As we got into winter and our new date approached, several hotels near our venue remained shuttered and our venue informed us dancing on their property
