CANTON, Ohio — A Northeast Ohio couple is looking toward the future after the pandemic presented some roadblocks to their walk down the aisle.
COVID-19 hit three months before the formal wedding Sara and Steve Mathie spent a year planning. Now, they’re excited to get dressed up and officially celebrate their love with loved ones.
They went ahead and made their marriage official with a small, scaled-back wedding on June 20, 2020. Because of COVID-19, the wedding day they planned for a year wasn’t exactly how they dreamed it.
“We had to cut everything back,” said Sara’s mom, Belinda Grimsley. “And, you know, you couldn’t dance, you couldn’t do the traditional wedding things.”
She and Sara’s sister, Hannah Grimsley, are regular audience members for Sara’s sessions at Abbott’s Bridal and Formalwear.
“I love it,” Hannah said. “I love shopping. This is like what I dreamed of.”
The pandemic has not stopped associates with Abbott’s Bridal from helping brides prepare for their big day. They helped Sara find a “backup” dress for her to wear while exchanging vows with Steve last year.
“It’s breathtaking,” Sara said. “It’s beautiful and it just kind of reminds me of, like, how much fun we had.”
But, it’s not “THE” dress.
“It’s the granddaddy of THE dress,” she explained.
Now that more folks will be able to share in their celebration this year, Sara is planning to wear “THE dress,” the one she picked out for the larger ceremony they had to put on hold.
“I think it’s a little bit less stress because we did it last year,” Belinda said. “This year we’re gonna have fun. It’s let’s just go have fun.”
Sara visited the shop earlier for her formal fitting to make sure the gown is good to go. She gave Steve a look at where the magic happens at the bridal boutique with a fashion show try-on session with their original wedding dress and others for fun.
“Well, I mean, I’ve been in the front part (of the store), I’ve never been back in this part before,” he said with a laugh. “I’m not allowed back here normally, but I’ve seen this one, so I’m allowed to come back here for this one.”
The couple is planning to gather with friends and family at a reception this summer to mark their one-year anniversary.
“We get a whole other opportunity to share with everybody how much we love each other,” Steve said.
It’s at that event where Sara will wear the original wedding dress she picked out. The first dress she said “yes” to.
The style is still a secret to Steve as the couple tries to keep some traditions in their non-traditional wedding.
“One little normalcy that we get to keep so we’re excited for that,” he said.
“I want somebody else to see this and relate to us and not feel as bad about what the situation is,” Sara said. “Because at the end of the day, we had fun, we enjoyed it and we can’t wait to do it again.”
