Bri and Lindsey Leaverton love being spontaneous but this doesn’t mean they don’t plan.
In fact, they had even planned for their wedding to happen on April 10, Good Friday, in a historic hotel in Austin, Texas.
“We had everything planned down to a tee,” said Lindsey, 37. “We were supposed to get married on 4.10.20, Good Friday because nothing says ‘Happy Easter’ like a good old lesbian wedding.”
But the coronavirus pandemic happened an Austin put down shelter-in-place advisories only weeks before their nuptials. From a guest list of 50, it shrunk to 10 and they had to accept that things were not going to go as planned.
Fortunately, their wedding planner had an out-of-the-box solution.
“Our wedding planner had this crazy idea: What if we did this at a drive-in movie theater? She said, ‘I feel like that suits you guys,’” Lindsey said.
The drive-in theater in Austin was closed but in nearby Buda, Texas, south of Austin, Doc’s Drive-In Theater was still open. Because the theater serves food for pickup, they had been deemed an essential business and allowed to remain open.
“We asked them, ‘How crazy would it be if we got married there?’ and they said ‘Absolutely,” said Bri, 31.
Despite the unconventional nature of the venue and the circumstances, the couple’s friends and family enthusiastically got on board with the idea.
“They said, resoundingly, ‘This is so you, this is so Bri and Lindsey,’” said Lindsey.
Finally, April 28 arrived and the couple got married.
Around 85 cars were in attendance, below the venue’s 90-car limit, and guests stayed in their cars the whole time.
“We asked everybody to come in their PJs and to decorate their cars, so our straight friends were putting rainbows on their cars,” said Lindsey.
While the venue has changed, the couple retained some elements of their original wedding plan. For instance, the original videographer was there and live-streamed the wedding on the theater screens, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube so that their virtual audience could still witness the nuptials.
Jen Hatmaker, an author, and Lindsey’s friend was their original officiant and was there to marry the couple. Her book tour required some changes to the schedule, though (“Which is why we got married on a Tuesday,” Lindsey said).
But the realities of social distancing and the reason for it in the first place could still be felt throughout the ceremony.
“It was crushing to not be able to hug my parents,” Lindsey said. “My dad’s my best friend. I’ve always dreamed of him walking me down the aisle, having the daddy-daughter dance. Having to air-hug him and my mom from the car was really, really hard, but at least they were there.”
Bri’s 3-and-a-half-year-old son, Atlas, was also unable to attend the ceremony. She shares custody with the coparent who said that it would be safest if their son not attend because of the coronavirus.
But overall, the impromptu wedding turned out better than what they had initially thought.
“It was above and beyond anything we could’ve dreamed of,” Lindsey said. ”I’m so glad it happened the way it did. Our whole theme has been: we’re making some really tasty lemonade out of some really rotten lemons.”
Social distancing meant that the brides couldn’t say goodbye to each guest but each of the cars stopped by so that they could give out their congratulations and farewells from a distance. Well-wishers on YouTube and Instagram have also flooded them with congratulations.
“It was one of the most connected moments I’ve ever felt,” Lindsey said. “I thought it would be disconnected, but we got to wave at people as we left the venue. It was almost surreal how engaged and connected it made everyone feel at one of the most disconnected times of our lives.”
Replaced!