Katie Wood from Chiswick Cinema tells us how 2020 had other ideas when it came to planning her Big Day!

When Jason and I got engaged in December last year, we never could have predicted the logistical and emotional rollercoaster of having a wedding in 2020! Having planned everything within a week (I do love a spreadsheet!), found THE dress within a few more, I was ready to coast along until September 6^th as the most chilled out bride….how quickly did that all change?!

The advantage of being furloughed was that I was able to keep up with constantly changing guidelines and other obstacles that occurred in the wedding re-planning stages. From having to reduce the guestlist by over 200 people, to my dress being stuck in Italy, to Jase’s best man being stuck in Spain….the virus was definitely testing us!

We were incredibly lucky to be able to have the ceremony in my brother’s garden and the reception in my parent’s dining room. As it was a Jewish ceremony, we didn’t have to be in a specific venue, as long as the Rabbi was happy to officiate. Luckily he was and our 30 guests felt very comfortable in the outdoor ceremony. We took a risk with the English weather but as we stood under the Chuppah, the sun came out and shone upon all of us. Being in a place that has meaning and with only our immediate family and two closest friends was truly magical. I never imagined that such a milestone event could be so intimate and yet full of celebration.

The dinner afterwards turned into a big celebration with speeches, delicious food and dancing. My 88-year-old Grandma was tearing up the (makeshift) dancefloor and Jason’s grandparents (85 and 92 years old) danced together for the first time in over ten years!

Despite it being different to the wedding I’d envisaged originally, it was so much more special and meaningful than it would have been. Although there are lots of people I would have liked to have celebrated with, we are managing to do so in our own smaller ways. I guess it means that I’ll have to do a video screening in The Chiswick Cinema when it opens!