The Daily Sparkle: Carly + Evan

The Daily Sparkle is how we’re sharing heartfelt stories from our customers that illustrate the enduring power of love. We’re talking to so many people who are finding innovative and inspiring ways to celebrate during this uncertain time, and we are humbled and excited to help you bring your plans to life. Got a story of your own? We’d love to hear how you’re celebrating. Email Joy@bluenile.com and we might just feature you in our next post.

Welcome to our next story featuring Carly (who works at Blue Nile) and Evan, in Washington state, as told by Carly.

300 GUESTS & SOME IMPRESSIVE CHOREOGRAPHY

“My fiancé (spoiler alert, he’s my husband now) and I planned our wedding for March 28th, and we had invited over 300 guests. We even had some big choreographed dances that the whole wedding party (18 people, yikes) was involved in. Everyone out of town had already booked flights and hotels. We didn’t even think the virus would be an issue, until it started affecting some things we purchased online.”

PLANS EVOLVE DUE TO FAST-CHANGING REGULATIONS

“Then around mid-March, our state governor sent out a mandate that we couldn’t have a gathering of over 250 people. Okay. It’s fine, we’ll tell people to find babysitters for the kids. And then soon after, it was 50 people gatherings. People we knew had the virus, and it was closing in quick. We were devastated. But it’s still okay, because with 50 people, we can have our wedding party there, and close family!”

SUDDENLY, A NEW VENUE AND NO MORE THAN TEN GUESTS

“Our venue did decide to cancel on us, but we were lucky enough to find somewhere else to have the ceremony. At this point, we had already made the decision that we would have a big party later in the summer once everything blew over. Every bride dreams about wearing her dress twice, right?! Things slowly started to get worse and worse. Other states were mandating these “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” orders, and we knew that there was a chance we wouldn’t get married on the 28th. Soon after that thought, the president decided groups of 10 people or more was not recommended. 10 people? Including the bride and groom? Challenge accepted.”

THE WEDDING HAPPENS ONE WEEK EARLY

“We decided to get married a whole week early, on March 21st. Despite that fact that all of our decorations said March 28th—We’ll worry about that later. Everything came together perfectly! The photographer, hair and makeup, and the building were all ready to go! We had a tiny ceremony of 10 people that included the bride, groom, pastor, photographer, both sets of parents, Maid of Honor, and Best Man.”

PHEW. WE GOT MARRIED JUST IN TIME

We livestreamed the wedding and had close to over 300 people watching! The day was perfect. And now we get to plan our big summer party which will be the dance party of a lifetime! Two days after the wedding, the state governor placed a stay at home order on the state. We definitely wouldn’t have gotten married on the 28th!

Congratulations Carly and Evan. We’re so glad that the stars aligned and you were able to have your wedding despite challenging circumstances. We wish you all the best!

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