Sticking to their plan, Dana and Chris celebrate their love during difficult times.

Nothing stops love. That’s the mantra of many lovers during the pandemic.

Dana & Chris almost postponed their wedding day but then they remembered what was important to them – the celebration of their love for each other and their future together! With the blessings from their families they decided to go ahead with their big day that they had been planning for nearly a year. Thankfully Dana’s family got a travel exemption on the morning of the wedding to be there for the ceremony to watch the beautiful bride walk down the aisle with her Nana. A very special moment to be treasured forever.

Dana wore Dionis, our Australian designed wedding dress from Diva Curves by Peter Trends Bridal, and the wedding ceremony and reception was held at The Gunners Barracks, Mosman. The day ended with the most spectacular sunset – there couldn’t have been a more romantic end to their big day and start of their married life.

Here are a few questions we asked the bride:

How did you meet your husband?
We met through mutual friends on a night out at the Vivid Light Festival in Sydney.

How did your partner propose to you?
We had been talking about taking that next step and getting married for a while so I knew he was in the process of getting an engagement ring made, I just didn’t know when or what. It was a stinking hot Friday afternoon in late November 2019 and I had just gotten home from a full day of casual teaching in Western Sydney and battled with Friday night traffic for 1.5hrs. I was hot, tired and pretty grumpy! Chris had picked up the ring that afternoon and decided as soon as he saw it that he was going to give it to me as soon as he got home. He had also booked a table at our favourite restaurant for later that evening. It was very low key and very us.

What was your favourite part of your wedding day?
Spending precious time with my Nana getting ready.

Did you have a theme or concept for your wedding day?
Very simple! Green and white florals, navy suits and bridesmaid dresses.

How did you find the experience of shopping for a wedding gown?
The Sydney Peter Trends Bridal studio was the only shop I visited and as soon as I saw my dress I knew it was right. The process was so easy!

What I loved about my wedding gown…
The buttons! The photo taken during sunset and the buttons on my dress look magical.

Do you have any words of wisdom for future brides?
Take a step back when everything feels overwhelming, remember why you are getting married and remember what you wanted the wedding to be about.

Is there anything special you would like to share with us about your wedding day?
We booked our wedding in January 2020 before we even knew about Covid-19, so 2020 was a hard year of ups and downs and we were very hesitant to commit to anything before September. By September we decided to go ahead with the wedding no matter what and every week it seemed to be improving. My family live interstate and overseas so it was looking promising.

3 days before the wedding it all came undone. The Northern Beaches where my parents and brothers live had a Covid outbreak. We were hopeful that things would get better but each day it sadly got worse. We didn’t know if Sydney would also be in lockdown in a few days time. We already had everything planned – flowers, music, photographer, celebrant etc. Would we have to postpone or cancel all of this? With my parents’ blessing we decided that even if we had to get married in the backyard with just us and the celebrant we would do it.

It was at this point that we realised what was truly important. We had been swept along in a year of wedding planning and all of the work that goes with that, and we felt we had forgotten what it was all about. It was about us, our love and our future. We didn’t want to wait another 6 months or a year because who knows when Covid will be over.

The day of the wedding arrived, the Northern Beaches were in lockdown, the borders were shut and it looked like we would be getting married without any of my family at the wedding and only our friends and Chris’ family that live in Sydney would be in attendance. Thankfully, my Nana arrived from South Australia just before the borders shut. She was able to help me get ready and walk me down the aisle, it was a very special moment for both of us. My parents and brothers were granted exemptions to attend the ceremony the morning of the wedding. They had to wear masks, stay socially distanced from everyone and leave as soon as the ceremony was over. It didn’t matter, they were there!