The weather dictated last minute decisions

By Hanna Wickes

Caitlin DiVincent had hoped for a large, fairytale wedding with a turnout of at least 220 guests. Her and her now-husband, Anthony DiVincent, even had their wedding booked a week after their engagement. “That was how in love we were with it,” Caitlin said.

Their wedding date: June 5th, 2020.

Once the Coronavirus pandemic began to take hold, she knew she’d have to postpone. Their wedding venue called to tell the couple: the reception would have to move to May 2021. “We were sad because we really fell in love with our June 5th date--so wanted to do something that day no matter what. My family really stepped up.”

Step up they did: her parents offered their backyard in Sparta, NJ as the new reception venue for the June 5th wedding. Her uncle, an ordained minister, officiated the ceremony of 12 people, her fiance’s family helped decorate, and the entire wedding was live-recorded to remote friends and family via Zoom video conference. “My husband and I actually both grew up together in Sparta, so it was really special for us.”

But the challenges didn’t stop there: the weather leading up to her wedding had weeks of rain in its forecast, and the night before the wedding it torrential down poured. “It became too much, I was so overwhelmed it got to the point where I couldn’t make decisions anymore. That was when I asked for help from my mom, and she started making the decisions.” Caitlin’s mom Donna, rented a last-minute tent, created a backup plan in case of rain, and decorated the tent using white and sparkled tissue paper pom poms.

The weather cleared up just in time. Only Caitlin’s three of her original six person bridal party attended, and they donned their own dresses rather than traditional matching ones. “I just told them to choose a dress they wanted to wear and somehow, everyone sort of matched, including our moms!”

They used chairs to create an aisle leading up from the driveway that led to an arbor decorated by Caitlin’s mom and sister. Caitlin’s dad walked her down it.

“I can’t think of any other word than ‘special.’ The day was so special.”

Caitlin DiVincent’s advice to other couples planning to get married during the current pandemic?

“Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t stress over things you can’t control and let things flow naturally. This is a historic time, so it’s okay if things go wrong. Just do it.”