Emily, Physician + Akshai, Physician
One sentence sum up of the wedding vibe: An intimate, casual ceremony surrounded by our family and closest friends during a global pandemic.
Planned Budget: 1200
Actual Budget: 1200
Number of Guests: 10
Location: San Francisco, CA
Photographer: Vivian Chen
Where we allocated the most funds: Our photographer.
Where we allocated the least funds: Everything else! We kept it simple and saved our money for the postponed wedding we’re planning in 2021.
What was totally worth it: Photography—we are so glad to have professional photos that we will treasure from our ceremony. We were also so happy to find gorgeous and affordable florals at the last minute that were perfect for our wedding vibe.
What was totally not worth it: We were hoping to broadcast the ceremony on Zoom for our out of town family and friends, but the cell service at Lands End was spotty and viewers were only able to see parts of the wedding.
A few things that helped us along the way: Our wedding planner, Khadija Hansia-Gibson from Limelight Productions. Her help was invaluable in planning our large wedding (now rescheduled for 2021) and in adapting at the last minute to get married on our original wedding date in the midst of a pandemic. Having our families nearby and amazing supportive friends also made this ceremony possible.
My best practical advice for my planning self: 1) Get a wedding planner. Especially during unforeseen circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic, we would have been lost without our planner (and the support of our friends and families).
2) Be flexible. We had to adapt to the frequently changing worldwide conditions, including picking a new site, cancelling travel plans for international family members, not having Emily’s actual wedding dress ready from the tailor, and re-planning many of the details that we had spent more than a year putting together.
Favorite thing about the wedding: Not letting the pandemic cancel our plans to get married. It was very different from what we’d planned, but it was special, unique, natural, and we are so glad we made it work. We’ll never forget the time we got married at a public park in the middle of a pandemic.