COVID
“Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.”—Kahlil Gibran
A COVID-19 Wedding in Dayton, OH
August, 2020
Half a year ago, Lauren and Romeo of Dayton, Ohio were intent on saving up for a big wedding with over 400 people invited. They were planning a celebration that would include family and friends from around the world, including Lauren's parents from the East Coast and Romeo's family from Dayton and Rwanda.
When COVID-19 hit stateside, Lauren, a nursing student and Romeo, a software engineer, had to get creative, and quickly. As Lauren's clinical rotations put her on the frontlines of an international pandemic, the young couple quickly began the planning process that would result in a hastily established but well-organized backyard wedding.
From flowers to catering to dresses and the big cake, the couple spun into homemade gold tasks that would have been otherwise outsourced during a "traditional, modern" wedding celebration. Thus, a "modern, COVID-19 wedding" was born - a concept that only a few months ago would have been as confusing as it was inconceivable.
For a few days in late August of 2020, the couple purchased fresh flower bouquets from Kroger, made a glazed wedding Bundt cake from scratch, and invited the bare minimum of party guests, limited to immediate family only. Lauren's sister, Kristin, and Romeo's brother, Dez, served as the maid of honor and best man. Apart from Lauren's parents, Kathy and Jon, and Romeo's mother, Annonciata, the remaining family and friends watched the proceedings live via Zoom.
Laughingly dubbed their "spontaneous micro-wedding," Romeo and Lauren have adjusted to strange, difficult, and, at times, perilous new circumstances. Facing the world together as a unified force has made things slightly easier. In our new normal, history will continue to be written and rewritten by the minute, and their small wedding is no exception.
“We knew we wanted to be married,” Lauren states, “and we also wanted to leverage the process to brighten the lives of our relatives amidst a summer that has been very difficult, both for personal and public reasons.”
Bride-to-be Lauren sits in her room the day before her wedding to fiancé, Romeo. In the foreground, Lauren's lace dress is hung on her mirror.
Lauren (right) and her sister, Kristen (left), discuss wedding plans and preparations in Lauren's Dayton, OH home.
Lauren (right), her mother, Kathy (right), and her sister, Kristin (left), arrange bridal and bridesmaid bouquets the day before her backyard wedding.
Lauren's sister, Kristin, puts the finishing touches on her bouquet as Lauren's maid of honor.
While FaceTiming Lauren's grandmother, Lauren (left), her sister, Kristin (right), and mother, Kathy (right) arrange flowers for Lauren's wedding tomorrow morning. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and risks, Lauren's wedding is not the inclusive, large, family affair she originally planned. Wanting to keep all family members safe--especially older and more vulnerable loved ones--Lauren and Romeo downsized for the occasion with hopes of a bigger celebration later down the road.
Tied with a festive ribbon, Lauren's bridal bouquet chills in a pot of ice water.
Spare roses sit in a pot as Lauren, Kristin, and Kathy prepare the flower arrangements for tomorrow's ceremony.
Next to a can of Coca-Cola in Lauren and Romeo's fridge, Romeo's boutonnière sits in a glass of water until tomorrow's wedding.
In the kitchen where she attends nursing school remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, bride-to-be Lauren works with a sprig of Baby's-breath the day before her wedding to fiancé Romeo in Dayton, OH.
On a warm August morning, Lauren enters the kitchen that she shares with fiancé, Romeo, on the day of her wedding. In preparation for the ceremony, Lauren's mother, Kathy (right), steams her veil.
On the morning of her wedding to fiancé, Romeo (middle, top of stairs), Lauren (left) is given a fresh face of makeup by her sister and maid of honor, Kristin.
Sporting a Dave Chappelle COVID-19 face mask, Romeo adjusts his camera the day before his wedding to fiancé, Lauren, in Dayton, OH. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Romeo and Lauren will both record and livestream their backyard wedding to friends and family across the world, including Rwanda, New Jersey, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia, Belgium, France, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
On the morning of his wedding to fiancé, Lauren (background), Romeo listens to a sample of the music planned for Lauren's trip down the aisle.
Romeo (left) and Lauren (right) are married by a masked officiant (center) as Lauren's sister, Kristin (far right) adjusts her veil in the wind. Due to COVID-19, Lauren and Romeo are married in a small, backyard affair with only a few family members and friends in attendance.
Lauren's mother, Kathy (left), records her daughter's wedding on her cellphone.
Observing social distancing during COVID-19, Romeo's family members watch the wedding ceremony. From left to right: Romeo's mother, Annonciata, Romeo's sister-in-law, Brittany, and Romeo's brother, Dez. Two days before Romeo and Lauren's wedding in Dayton, OH, the power went out in their cobblestoned neighborhood, leaving them without light for several hours. With nothing to do, Lauren, Romeo, and family members moved hastily to the porch to enjoy pizza and drinks as the nighttime insects drummed up their chorus. “We sat with Kristin and my parents and Dez in the dark, laughing and eating," Lauren described, "just waiting for the power to come back on."
Watching from behind Romeo and Lauren's chainlink fence in Dayton, OH, a handful of friends don COVID-19 face masks and maintain distance from the wedding ceremony.
What is normally a dizzying and chaotic rush to catch the bouquet--complete with many bridesmaids--is now performed solely between bride, Lauren (left), and her sister and maid of honor, Kristin (right).
At the base of their porch in Dayton, OH, Romeo pauses to speak to his bride-to-be, Lauren.
Following their backyard wedding ceremony, Romeo and Lauren wave happily to friends and family who were able to watch the proceedings via Zoom.
With Romeo's mother, Annonciata (far left), sister-in-law, Brittany (left), and brother, Dez (middle) looking on, bride Lauren (right) and groom Romeo (far right) pose for pictures on the Zoom call that broadcasted their wedding during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A COVID-19 Halloween in Oakwood and Dayton, OH
October 30 - 31, 2020
With masks secured and social distancing in full effect, residents of Montgomery County, OH ventured out to safely explore the new parameters of Halloween against the backdrop of a pandemic. While residents sat, masked, on their respective porches, they placed candy buckets at a six-feet distance for children to retrieve candy, while others created “candy chutes” to dispense treats to passersby. Whereas Halloween is normally a time of interaction, this year exhibited a significant absence of people and crowds. Those who did go out relegated themselves to their “pods.”
Oakwood, OH resident, Theresa, waits for trick-or-treaters while wearing ruby slippers in her "Wizard of Oz" Dorothy costume during the first "COVID-19 Halloween."
Theresa, a local doctor, dons a COVID-19 face mask while pushing her son in a stroller.
Theresa's neighbors in Oakwood, OH, sit slightly removed from trick-or-treaters during Halloween on October 31, 2020.
Wearing a wolf mask, a child waits for candy while visiting a family friend in Dayton, OH on October 30, 2020.
Walking up Theresa's pathway in Oakwood, OH, trick-or-treaters don COVID-19 face masks in addition to their costumes.
A trick-or-treater receives candy from a family friend in Dayton, OH on October 30, 2020.
Innovating "COVID-19 Halloween" to its fullest, an Oakwood, OH couple drops candy and treats through a makeshift "candy chute" to trick-or-treaters below.
Maintaining social distancing, a masked neighbor of Theresa's in Oakwood, OH tosses a piece of candy to a trick-or-treater.
In Oakwood, OH on Halloween Night on October 31, 2020, a trick-or-treater sports a "Jurassic Park"-themed dinosaur costume.
Trick-or-treaters wearing COVID-19 masks run to the next house for candy on Halloween Night, October 31, 2020.
Headlights cast a warm glow as Halloween comes to an end in Oakwood, OH on October 31, 2020.