Couples prove love conquers all
The COVID-19 pandemic year of 2020 brought plenty of trends: Zoom meetings, the increased use of takeout food containers, new places to use disinfectant wipes and the need for wedding sequels.
Two local couples last year scrambled to tie the knot as pandemic conditions and social-distancing rules caused them to plan, cancel and execute multiple weddings at multiple locations.
Sierra and Joe DuBois of Prospect had to scrap their original March church wedding in favor of a ceremony on the bridegroom's aunt's front porch, a ceremony marred by rain and missing flowers.
So, the DuBoises slated a second ceremony in September when the weather and the flower deliveries cooperated.For Taylor and Matt Connelly of East Butler, their wedding bell blues started even before most Americans had heard of the coronavirus.Their original choice of reception hall was Noah's Event Venue in Cranberry Township. Taylor Connelly said the couple saved the May 9 date by plunking down a check for $7,000.The couple was blindsided like thousands of other couples across the country in early February when the venue's national chain abruptly closed its doors without an explanation or refunding a single cent.They filled out extensive paperwork to get their money back through a bankruptcy claim in preparation of visiting an attorney.Then, seven days before the filing deadline, Noah's changed its bankruptcy to a “no assets” case, meaning nobody could file to collect from the chain.The couple scrambled to locate another venue for the reception with less than 90 days until the wedding and decided to go with the Hampton Banquet Hall in Gibsonia.Then COVID-19 hit and wiped out the planned bachelor and bachelorette parties, the church wedding planned for Holy Sepulcher Roman Catholic Church in Middlesex Township and again the reception.“We wound up getting married by Krystal Schultz, the mayor of Valencia, in my mother's backyard,” Taylor Connelly said. “We had Taco Bell for lunch and wedding cake.”Taylor's cousin live-streamed the May 9 ceremony for family and neighbors as the bride, holding her silk flowers, and bridegroom took their vows during an unexpected snow shower at the Zediker family home.
Sierra and Joe DuBois also had to rush to find a new location for their March 20 wedding when the church they had secured became unavailable because of the pandemic.They improvised by having their ceremony on the front porch of Matt's aunt's house in Coraopolis.“It didn't go well,” Sierra DuBois said. “It rained, and the flower orders were messed up. I never got my flowers.“I walked up along the sidewalk and the minute I got on the porch the downpour started,” she said.The DuBoises took their vows a second time Sept. 26 at Forever Farms, a wedding venue in Franklin.“We had about 130 people there,” Sierra DuBois said. “It was smaller than what we had expected.“But we had so much room. They had 150 acres. And it was 80 degrees and sunny. I was feeling third time's a charm.“If we had to postpone again, I wasn't going to do it,” she added.The Connellys got their church wedding at Holy Sepulcher on Nov. 7 with a limited number of guests.But they are holding up on a reception for now.“On our one-year anniversary, we plan to have an anniversary reception. We are shooting for May,” Taylor Connelly said.
