Now that it’s crystal clear that hosting a big wedding at this time is just not possible due to the spread of COVID-19, we’re sharing the experiences of real couples navigating the re-scheduling, cancellation, and civil and commemorative wedding processes in an attempt to help others make informed decisions and to spread our support to all during this time.

Samantha Mirkin postponed her July 25th wedding at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden because of the spread of COVID-19. Here, she’s sharing how she and her husband, Spencer Bernstein, made the final call and decided to have a micro wedding in the backyard of her parents’ home on Long Island.

At the end of April—the week of her bridal shower—the couple’s venue called them to break the news that all of their summer weddings were being pushed to next year. At the same time, their planners, DM Events & Design, were encouraging them to postpone to next July. The garden only had one open date left then, so they jumped on it.

“Even if we were allowed [to have our wedding], we did not want to risk the health and safety of our family and friends,” Spencer says. “Having the wedding without being able to dance and celebrate with our closest loved ones is not the wedding we dreamed of, so we postponed it by a year in the hopes we can celebrate without hesitation on July 17th, 2021.”

The day after Samantha and Spencer postponed, they realized they still wanted to be married, so their only option was to have a small ceremony in her parents’ backyard. With four months and no prior event planning experience, the two and their families worked to put everything together. Their florist, Debbie from Debbie’s Flowers, was especially handy and stepped in as a coordinator.

To say, “I do,” Samantha ordered a Halston dress and ordered 3.1 Phillip Lim shoes from Net-a-Porter, and Spencer went to Rothmans in the city to get a blue suit. On the day-of, the bride got ready with Sam Andres and Carrie Hoch-Spangolo, who took care of her beauty look, and her mom, sister, and sister-in-law.

Then it was time to walk down the aisle with her parents and to meet Spencer and their (masked) rabbi under the chuppah. The couple recited their vows with their families by their side and shared a first kiss as the Bernsteins.

Once husband and wife, the two greeted their guests, who had come together on Zoom to watch the whole ceremony. Then, everyone had a delicious dinner, catered by Da Nicola, and thoughtful speeches were made. The couple cut their wedding cake by The Sweet Peace, and after the meal, extended family and close friends stopped by to wish the newlyweds well.

“Although this wasn’t the wedding day we had envisioned for ourselves it was so special to be able to get married in my parents’ backyard, surrounded by our families and my grandparents, who are 93 and 90!” the bride says. “We feel extremely lucky we were able to get married and celebrate during this time.”