‘So much time, and money and planning’
From Disney dreams to backyard ceremony, one couple’s wedding rescheduling drama during COVID
STAMFORD — From 120 guests at a glorious church service to 30 people in neighbor’s backyard, the COVID-19 pandemic changed one couple’s dream wedding — but they are not giving up yet.
Jesse Rathbun and Christina Mitchell met in 2006, members of the same friend group at Greenwich High School. After they graduated, the two went their separate ways but rekindled their friendship in 2010 when Christina reached out to Jesse to ask what he had planned for Valentine’s Day that year.
“One thing led to another, and in March 2010, we started dating,” Christina said. “Basically, I knew pretty much right away that he was the one.”
Eight years into their relationship, he proposed, on July 19, 2018. Christina was elated. Ever since she was a child, she had fantasized about her wedding day, a fan of Disney love stories and the show, “Say Yes to the Dress.”
But her dreams of having the perfect wedding day were shattered when COVID-19 hit. And as time went on, and as the pandemic worsened, the reality sank in: The couple knew they would likely have to reschedule their wedding day.
The Rathbuns, who live in Stamford, eventually settled on hosting a small wedding on their original date, Sept. 5,
2020. The event occurred in a neighbor’s backyard and included 30 people, a more intimate guest list than planned. The Rathbuns ordered a mini version of their wedding cake, provided masks and hand sanitizer, created special seating pods, and tried to make the best of the smaller space.
To salvage their original plans for hosting a 120-person wedding, and to save the money that they would have lost if they had simply canceled their wedding, the Rathbuns are still planning to host the “wedding” of their dreams on Sept. 4, 2021, one year after they legally tied the knot. Instead of hosting a second wedding, the couple is technically participating in a vow renewal. That day, the renewal will include everything the Rathbuns had always wanted: It will occur at a church; it will include a reception, and a large party to close the event.
“It was very important for us to still have that,” Christina Rathbun said. “We had put in so much time, and money and planning, and we didn’t want that to just all go to waste.”
The Rathbuns are not alone in their wedding rescheduling dilemma. Since March of 2020, 96 percent of couples expecting to say “I do” during the past year have either modified their wedding plans or postponed their receptions into 2021, according to a February survey by the wedding planning website, The Knot.
The Knot, and many other similar organizations, have posted tips online to help couples navigate their complex wedding rescheduling nightmares.
The Rathbuns are hopeful they’ll finally be able to host the reception parties of their dreams, as vaccines continue rolling out and as COVID-19 infection rates dwindle.
And it was not just the wedding and reception plans that had to change.
The Rathbuns also had to reschedule their honeymoon, a 10-night cruise to the Caribbean. The trip was planned for just after their wedding and the boat was supposed to be sailing on what would have been Jesse Rathbun’s 30th birthday. The new and likely final date is now Nov. 12, the couple said.
Although the Rathbuns have experienced many lows during the pandemic, Jesse said there’s one silver lining. Although his wife lost her job, and he’s been secluded while working from home, social distancing has brought the couple closer together, he said.
“We saw a lot of relationships fall apart during COVID, and we were sitting here getting stronger,” Christina said. “And it just validated that we made the right choice during COVID.”