There are lots of words we could use to describe 2020. Certainly ‘unforgettable’ would be right up there. It’s the year ‘iso’ became the most popular word in Australia. But for me, amongst many words, one I would choose is fascinating.
Families are fascinating. If you assume twenty years is
roughly a measure of a generation, then what can happen in a family within that
timeframe can be simply astounding – and you look back and say “Who would have
thought …”
That’s what I do when I consider the events of 2020 and how they impacted my son Andrew and his second cousin, Britt.
I look back a generation, 21 years to be exact and a
celebration held in 1999 to mark the 80th birthday of family
matriarch, Nanna Apple. The story of how she got that name is for another time,
but at age 80 Nanna had produced three children, seven grandchildren and four
great-grandchildren, many of whom came together with their partners to share
the special day.
Nanna’s oldest son, Grahame and daughter Beverley had both
welcomed their first grandchildren. Grahame’s grandson Andrew and Bev’s
granddaughter Britt had been born within ten months of each other, and at
Nanna’s 80th, Britt was four and Andrew just a month shy.
Here is the family photo of Nanna and all her progeny, with Andrew and Britt in front.
Fast forward that generation to 2020 and both Andy and Britt were celebrating their engagements with wedding plans well underway.
And suddenly, the world was turned upside down. In this
crazy year we will never forget, life as we knew it disappeared and all plans
made were up for grabs.
Britt’s April wedding to Tim was the first casualty. It was rescheduled
to October in the hope that by then life would have regained some normality and
precious family members from overseas would be able to attend.
As the year wore on, Andy’s August wedding to Ruth became increasingly
less likely as she was stranded in her homeland of England and neither could
travel to the other. Eventually, breakthrough came and after seven months
apart, in early October Andy was allowed to leave Australia so they could
reunite and marry in England on November 14.
Back in Australia, Britt was forced to relinquish her chosen
wedding venue as ongoing restrictions meant the wedding could not go ahead with
the amount of guests she had planned for. She and Tim decided on smaller
numbers, achievable in an outdoor setting followed by a get together afterwards
for the wedding party.
From Andy’s arrival in the UK on October 4, the search was
on for a suitable venue and an amazing one was found, so there was much
excitement as the plans progressed. However, the UK was experiencing a second
wave and in a very short time, the wedding numbers went from thirty, to fifteen
to eventually none as the treasured venue closed. The wedding date was moved
from November 14 to November 12 and the venue became the local registry office,
with special permission granted for Ruth’s parents to attend. Surely nothing
more would change?
I’m thrilled to share that Britt and Tim’s October 24th wedding went ahead, amidst storms, torrential rain and limited numbers.
It was live streamed to family members overseas, and the bride was her radiant best.
Britt’s mother Lisa was the picture of elegance. Dad Greg looked pretty good too!
As the bearer and sharer of the elegance gene, Nanna Apple would have been so chuffed with them all.
If you arrive in England from overseas you have to be in the
country a minimum of 28 days before you can marry, which was the governing
factor behind November 12 being Andy and Ruth’s wedding date. On November 1st,
news broke that the UK was going into total lockdown. As the ramifications
began to filter through, it became apparent that all registry office weddings
would be cancelled, with no more scheduled until 2021. To come so close and be
denied was hard to swallow, and Andy was determined to exhaust all
avenues. He pleaded his case and was given
permission to apply for an exemption to the 28 day rule so the wedding could go
ahead before lockdown, just two days away. He was warned he stood little chance
as exemptions were only granted to people going overseas for war or facing
imminent death! Yet he knew we have a big God who is in the miracle business,
and word went out to mobilise everyone for prayer.
And God came through!
The wedding was booked for the following day at 4pm, eight
days ahead of their plans and the last wedding at the registry office before
lockdown came into force.
Flowers were hurriedly arranged through a work colleague of
the bride’s mother, a surprise dinner venue booked and a photographer who’d had
a cancellation was able to say yes at the last minute.
We watched the wedding on a tiny mobile phone screen ...
and we've never seen a happier couple!
And the bride's parents did a marvellous job helping Andy and Ruth get all together in a hurry!
The dinner venue in the Lake District provided the backdrop for some beautiful photographs, and the couple were able to stay and celebrate their wedding night before the lockdown of all hotels which commenced the following day.
My boy and my new daughter-in-love, Ruth.
Who would have thought back in 1999, what a year 2020 would be!
It’s fascinating to me, that so many years after that photo
was taken at Nanna’s 80th, both Andy and Britt would become engaged
and marry in the same year, less that ten days apart. That both would have
journeys of cancelled and rescheduled weddings involving an unimaginable range
of challenges and change. I couldn’t be
more thrilled that both held out for their dreams and even in the midst of a
year like no other, they persevered and were rewarded with the joy such
occasions bring.
Nanna Apple would have loved it.
Singing along,
Tracey 👰
With thanks to the YouTube channel of Megan Smith for Time Passages Lyrics by Al Stewart.
And I can thoroughly recommend Jon Harrison Image Photography if you're having a wedding in the UK!
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