Have you, your daughter, or a loved one had to change or postpone your wedding date due to COVID-19? We know this is a difficult season for many, especially those who have spent months, perhaps even years, planning for this moment. With that in mind, we’re sharing an open letter from a bride who drastically changed her wedding day due to the pandemic and a mother of a soon-to-be bride who is walking alongside her daughter through this unexpected journey. We hope you will find some encouragement in their words.
Dear 2020 Bride,
Let me begin by saying how sorry I am that you find yourself in this difficult situation. The day you’ve dreamed of, likely for much of your life, is being impacted by something that no one saw coming and that you never could have planned for.
I also want to tell you that you are not alone, I know how you feel. When I was ten years old, my mom bought me my first bridal magazine, and I have been planning my dream wedding ever since. Since the day I got engaged to Blake last July, we poured our hearts into planning what we hoped would be a beautiful, May wedding. Just over a month ago, all of our plans changed as we made the decision to postpone our wedding due to COVID-19.
Let me offer you some words of encouragement that have carried me through this season:
1. Take Your Feelings To Jesus
2. Nothing Is Wasted
3. Seek Joy and Celebration
This is the hope that I have for 2020 brides: We have the unprecedented opportunity to trust God with our plans, knowing that His plans are better. What a beautiful perspective we’ve been given of walking into a marriage with eyes wide open, knowing that life will hold challenges, yet we will face them together with the man God has provided as our teammate. God is more than faithful.
Remember, you are still a bride, not just because of a white dress and beautiful ceremony, but because of who you are in Christ. Nothing takes that identity away from you. I am cheering you on, and, when your day comes, what a celebration it will be!
-Savannah
Dear Mother-of-the-Bride and Family,
This is heartbreaking. So terribly, terribly heartbreaking. This is not at all what you were expecting. Bridal showers canceled, venues and churches closed, and all the details of planning on hold. This was supposed to be the day your girl dreamed about, the day you planned for, the once-in-a-lifetime perfect day for your daughter.
We can’t fix this or make it all go away. And so we weep together. Our hearts are broken along with yours. And, as we trust in a sovereign God, we try to make this time as special as we can under the circumstances.
Mother of the bride, I know you, more than anyone. You want to help your sweet daughter navigate this journey with beauty and grace. You want her to walk through this experience with trust and reliance upon the Lord. The way you and other family members respond will speak volumes to your daughter. But especially your response. Your precious daughter looks to you, her mom, the woman who has walked her through trials and struggles her entire life. But what can you do? How do you model your own trust and faith in the Lord when your own heart is broken?
1. You cry with your daughter, and you listen.
2. You point your daughter to Jesus.
3. As her mother, help reschedule the bridal showers and anything else.
Remember that a wedding, a marriage, is a sacred experience. From the beginning it was the man, the woman, and God (Gen. 2). When you take away all the celebration, the fun of family and friends, and the beauty of the bridal party, it is really about the bride and groom, together for the gospel, together for God. Those are the words I keep telling myself.
Weeping with you—from a brokenhearted mother of the bride who has now postponed three bridal showers and has a wedding plan B in the works.
-Michelle
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