The number of COVID cases are on the rise and forecasts for the coming months are top of mind. This has a lot of engaged couples wondering, “Should we just do it?? Should we get married now, anyway, despite the pandemic?”
Well, we know one couple who did just that, and couldn’t be happier.
Jordan and Tori Lorenz were supposed to get married June 12th. In mid-May, they decided to postpone their wedding. The best reschedule date they could secure wasn’t until October 31st. They were all recalibrated for a Halloween Wedding when something inside them told them not to wait. With some seriously last-minute moves, they managed to get married on their original wedding day.
Here’s how they did it, an inside look at Jordan and Tori Lorenz’s completely successful COVID-era wedding.
FACET: Can you tell us about your decision to get married on this day? Had you originally decided to postpone or cancel your wedding?
Tori: We had determined around mid-May to postpone our wedding. Gov. Walz had extended the Stay at Home order, and even though our venue is a privately held property, the photographer, hair and make-up, and hotels were out of the question. Even if they were to open before June 12th, there was no telling whether we'd be able to execute the day we had planned (and dreamed about) for a year.
When we chose to postpone, honestly, we were more open to cancelling.
However, our venue and caterer would not refund any deposits because their cancellation policy was in full effect. We were told we could move our date to any open day in 2020, and retain our same price. Moving to Saturday would normally cost more, while Sunday through Thursday would normally be less expensive.
We decided October seemed the "safest,” given what we knew.
No one could predict what the summer would bring. All of our vendors, aside from one, were available for our new date, and no one charged money to change dates. I assume keeping the job was the most important part to them as well!
On June 10th, I had checked the weather forecast for the weekend and noted that Friday the 12th was supposed to be 72 degrees and sunny with a light breeze… a perfect day for an outdoor June ceremony.
I was sad and angry because by June 10th, the hotels, hair and make-up, and photography were all permitted. Our wedding day could have happened as planned. Instead, we had to wait four and a half months to have our wedding, and by that time of year in Minnesota, there could be rain, or even snow.
Our wedding colors were not what I would have chosen if I knew we would have a fall wedding, but everything was purchased and paid for, so I didn't have a choice.
When we decided to postpone, some very close friends of ours offered to host a small ceremony for us in June, and we declined.
Well, on June 10th, we discussed how maybe we should have accepted their offer, but it was too late to change our minds now. We'd made our choice, and we would just have to wait.
Thursday was similar, though with probably an even saltier attitude. We'd made plans to have dinner with friends to try to salvage the day.
Friday morning, I can't say how Jordan felt. He usually leaves a few minutes before I have to get up for the day. So, I got up, logged online to start working (my office has been shut down since March), and tried to get on with my day as best I could. Around 9am, my sister reached out and asked how I was doing.
I told her I'd be ok, but honestly, the day was hard.
"If you want to get married,” she said, “just let me know and I'll pick Jim up and we'll be there in a jiffy!" Jim is Jordan's brother, and his best man.
I told her we didn't ever get a marriage license, and we couldn't just go to the courthouse without our families there. It would hurt their feelings.
Then I texted Jordan, and told him what my sister had said. He called me right away after that.
“Should we do it? Should we just go get married?” he asked.
“We don't even have a marriage license; we can't. And even if we could, your mom would be distraught and my dad would be very upset if we got married and no one was there.”
“Well, call the county and see if we can get a marriage license. I'll see what I can do about the other stuff.”
FACET: So, it was spur of the moment?
Tori: Clearly spur of the moment. It turns out we could get a license, and we could get married the same day. Jordan was able to contact the friends who had originally offered to host, as well as our original officiant, another friend. We determined that if our families could be available, we would go get married at 8pm that night. My sister, who was my maid of honor, and Jordan’s brother, Jim, who was his best man, came over around 12pm.
FACET: How did you approach the overwhelming task of reimagining your big day?
Tori: There wasn't enough time to have any amount of stress. We knew we wanted to be married, and it didn't matter where or how.
Jordan and I got our marriage license, a cake from the Hy-Vee Bakery, two bouquets from Pletschers Greenhouse, food catered by Buca di Beppo, a last-minute photographer, and contacted all of our family who were en route by about 3pm. I even got a new dress from Posh Love Boutique.
After the ceremony, we were all chatting and Jordan was looking at his ring. We had forgotten that when it was purchased, we had it engraved with 6/12/20. It was kind of the final piece that indicated everything worked out as it should.
FACET: What about your honeymoon? How are you handling that?
Tori: Two days after the wedding, we were supposed to head to Ireland for sixteen days. I'm a tax CPA, so thankfully I’d been too busy with work during tax season to book anything for the trip aside from airline tickets. The airline fully refunded our tickets after the flight was cancelled, so now we will be looking to book a trip for next summer. The where is still TBD, as we have no clue what the next few months will bring. Maybe Europe, Thailand, or even Bali whenever it is safe.
FACET: What advice do you have for couples in your shoes? Did anything have to magically fall into place to pull it off?
Tori: I don't know that "magically falling into place," is the right word. I had not wanted a small wedding. However, looking back, the day was so perfect I wouldn't change it. We had twenty-two people, so we were under the twenty-five-person limit that was part of "Stay Safe." No one was considered high-risk, and we were outdoors as well. We have some very amazing friends and family, and it probably could not have gone nearly as smoothly without their help.
My advice would be to not get so caught up in planning; the day is done and over before you know it. Focus on the why—why do you want to marry that person? How will you continue to grow, and nurture that relationship when the "big day" is over? Focus on the rest of your life together, because that's what is really important…
