Adorable Social Distancing Wedding at Old City Cemetery

Times definitely are different now, but I really appreciate the brides who are sending their stories to encourage others as they are planning. Kelsey and Nick’s wedding caught my eye on social media. Their adorable smiling faces and the purple flowers just made me happy! Hopefully seeing their social distancing wedding at Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg will make you feel the same way.

Having a Social Distancing Wedding

I’d like to preface this by saying that Kelsey was very honest in how she felt during the uncertainty of Coronavirus. She said, “I’m a very anxious and emotional person so for the entire month of March, I cried every day because I didn’t know how COVID-19 was going to affect our wedding.” I know that many of you are feeling the same way, so let their story and photos encourage you.

An Adorable Old City Cemetery Wedding

What plans did you have to change to still hold your wedding during this time?

Our original plan was to get married in North Carolina. We were going to get married in the church where I grew up. My father was going to preside over the ceremony. When we called about getting a marriage license, the North Carolina circuit courts weren’t letting anyone from out of state come into their offices.

Our back-up plan became getting married in Virginia. Then we realized that my father would have to go through accreditation with Virginia to be able to marry us. Long-story-short, we chose to have our current pastor marry us. He did our pre-marital counseling, so having him officiate was perfect.

Purple Wedding at Old City Cemetery Lynchburg Virginia | Hill City Bride

Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg, VA makes such a lovely spot for a wedding!

How did your vendors react to the changes?

My father will still be our minister when we have a second ceremony and party in October. We didn’t want to lose any money on deposits with any of our North Carolina vendors, so we decided to keep everything as it was before. We just moved back to October 10th. Our NC vendors bent over backward to accommodate that new date. It was incredible really.

Since we’d already spent our budget, our small Virginia ceremony couldn’t be very ostentatious. We needed a free venue and the bare basics. Both of our families were a little unnerved about us getting married in a cemetery, but we loved the location. It felt perfect. It was secluded, private, and beautiful.

Why did you decide to still go ahead with your wedding?

Nick and I were tired of not being married to each other. I think it’s probably easier for people already living together and sharing their entire lives together already, but Nick and I were tired of living separately.

Purple Wedding at Old City Cemetery Lynchburg Virginia | Hill City Bride

Their colorful purple wedding color palette evokes a sense of happiness.

We were tired of not having the luxury of being together all the time. We were tired of not being able to call each other ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ and being able to begin our lives together. And the pandemic itself has shown us that life is short. Anything could happen in the blink of an eye. So why put off forever?

What precautions did you take with a social distancing wedding?

We were eager to get married. We also didn’t want to be reckless, so we only had immediate family at our ceremony. Everyone was able to keep their distance from one another during the ceremony but still be close enough to hear everything.

What were the pros and cons of having a smaller wedding?

It was extremely hard for Nick and me to give up everything we had been planning for the past six months. It was hard for me as a woman to give up some of the dreams I’d been harboring since I was a little girl.

It’s not how you want your wedding to go, but in our eyes, it was still perfect. And, it’s funny, because, in the end, we’re actually getting EVERYTHING we wanted. I feel like we could better focus on each other.

Purple Wedding at Old City Cemetery Lynchburg Virginia | Hill City Bride

Wild blooms were incorporated into the bridal bouquet.

But, of course, I love a party. I love weddings and dancing and being with friends and family in that kind of setting. So, we still get to have our reception as planned in October.

In the end, we really are getting the best of both worlds. We got a spring wedding outdoors, and we’re getting a fall wedding. We got married in Virginia, the state where we met and fell in love. And then we get to have another wedding in NC where I grew up.

“If we can make it through this, we can make it through other bad stuff.”

We got to have an intimate ceremony and later we get to have a big bash. There have been a couple of times when I thought, “why doesn’t everyone do this?” Without the pandemic, of course.

Did you learn anything during this experience?

This has probably been one of the biggest growing experiences of my life. Nick would probably say the same thing. We’re both big-time planners. We had most of this wedding planned before we were officially engaged. Everything was set. Nick and I had agreed on everything.

And then this huge wrench gets thrown in. And so I learned that I can’t control everything. I can’t control pandemics or business closures. But I can control my reaction.

Purple Wedding at Old City Cemetery Lynchburg Virginia | Hill City Bride

The grape soda cap is an adorable nod to the movie “Up.”

Nick and I never fought during this whole ordeal. We never took our fears or anxiety out on each other. And I believe that truly sets our foundation for our marriage. If we can make it through this, we can make it through other bad stuff. We were there for each other.

Nick constantly reminded me to cling to my faith and rely on God to take care of us. And, at the end of the day, we knew we would get married on April 18th. God blessed us with that, and with the most beautiful day, as well.

What are you doing about a honeymoon?

Our original plan was to go to a resort in Ocean Isle, NC. The island completely shut down due to the virus, so that got canceled. We ended up finding a cabin in Virginia through Airbnb. It was literally in the middle of nowhere on a farm. It was perfect.

After all of this stress, Nick and I just wanted to get away and have it just be the two of us. And, it was just what we needed. We’re still planning on taking a beach trip after our second wedding in October.