Newlyweds plan dream wedding after pandemic forced them to downsize 2020 ceremony
TAMPA, Fla. - It wasn’t exactly the walk down the aisle that Brittany Dix pictured for her big day.
"I envisioned my dad walking me down the aisle, the doors opening, kind of this grand entrance that I think most girls do dream about," explained Dix who got married in June 2020.
However, it’s a walk down the aisle she says she’ll never forget.
"Instead, my dad walked me down the street here in our neighborhood, over to this dock," she said.
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After months of planning the perfect June wedding to marry the love of her life, Evan, COVID-19 completely changed their plans.
"I would tell Evan, at the end of the day, this isn’t looking good, look at these numbers," said Brittany.
Ultimately, tough decisions had to be made: go forward with their big day or cancel it altogether.
"At that point, we decided our big June wedding that we planned is not going to happen," Brittany recalled.
But just because their dream wedding was on hold didn’t mean they still couldn’t tie the knot.
"If we can still get married, just the two of us with our immediate family, we’re going to do it," said Brittany.
They kept it simple with a small ceremony held just steps away from their home.
"Some of our neighbors had put some chalk on the road in our neighborhood that said ‘Going to the pond to get married’ instead of ‘Going to the chapel,’" she said.
It wasn’t what they planned. However, their moms added a few extra touches to transform the neighborhood dock into a beautiful spot for Brittany and Evan to say, "I do."
"You can see it in his eyes, even like me coming around the corner here, just the excitement in his face and mine. I told him he better always look at me that way," joked Brittany.
But the celebration didn’t stop there.
"Our neighbors here threw us a reception, outdoors afterward, and we did toast on the driveway. We had our first dances," explained Dix. "It was not the classy wedding that we had envisioned, but it was a lot of fun and certainly very memorable."
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When Brittany thinks back on their big day, she’s thankful her immediate family was able to take part.
"We are so happy that we kept our original wedding date and still got married," said Brittany.
However, it’s also hard to ignore the obvious.
"Part of me does feel robbed of those moments that we didn’t get to have," Brittany said.
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So, that’s why they’re starting to plan all over again -- finally getting the classy wedding reception they originally had in mind.
"Our moms are going to wear their dresses, I’m going to wear my wedding dress and not many brides wear their wedding dress twice so I’m pretty excited about that."
However, the couple is most excited to include the loved ones who missed out on their big day the first time around.
"We are just looking forward to having everybody we love and care about there with us to celebrate us even if it is almost two years after we’ve gotten married," said Brittany.
It was an unprecedented wedding on top of an unprecedented year, but Brittany says it only helped to strengthen her and Evan’s bond.
"With us getting through that, I feel like we can handle anything that comes our way," Brittany said.
The couple is now planning to host the wedding reception of their dreams come 2022.