Edwin and Jaime’s wedding was supposed to have had their wedding set to the backdrop of the dramatically tapered mountains of St. Lucia, the cool ocean breeze flowing in and out of the ceremony and a little bit of leftover Christmas spirit. Covid had other plans for them as it did for many others in 2020, but while they couldn’t have their destination wedding, they still had their Coronavirus wedding here in Florida. While they couldn’t have their wedding that they originally planned for, they had each other and their love and that was more than enough for them.
This was my first Coronavirus wedding since the beginning of the pandemic. I had a lot of other cancellations and postponements, but this was the first opportunity I had outside of shooting the NFL and MLB to truly be around a gathering of people for a celebration. Was I a little nervous? Not really, but shooting a typical wedding was quite different from shooting a Coronavirus wedding. There were temperature checks at the church, masks and hand sanitizers everywhere and of course social distancing.
The ceremony was held at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Miramar, FL. It was brief ceremony which led to the reception, which was the main event, at the Bamboo Gallery in Davie, FL. The Bamboo Gallery is a lush, tropical space with Tiki Huts and waterfalls. Firepits were conveniently spaced out and guests were free to roam the grounds as they saw fit.
With Covid protocols in place and the fact that the reception started just as the sun began to set, trying get through the formal wedding photos was probably the biggest challenge of the night. The challenge was keeping the well wishers away as well as not having the guests walk back and forth in the photos. Once the wedding coordinator and her staff were able to guide the guests we were able to crank out the photos and get the wedding party ready for the introductions.
The rest of the night was just staying back and capturing the moments. From the toasts, to the cake cutting to the music provided by SHE-J HERCULES, it was a great time had by all. The best was how Edwin and Jaime just truly enjoyed their time together with friends and family who came out to help them celebrate their love in the time of Covid.
