CONNECTED: Love in the time of COVID-19
Meagan and Lachlan - the artistic, sweet, vibrant couple who confidently married on their terms in the midst of a global pandemic. Michael married these sweethearts on a rainy day back in April at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) while they streamed their vows to their loved ones around the world. After having to tell their overseas travellers to stay at home, and re-imagining their wedding day, we sat down with them (via socially distanced technology) to debrief. Here’s what followed.
So Michael has told me a little about your wedding and how you had to change your plans, but I'd love if you could tell me a little about yourselves in your own words.
Meagan: We met through mutual friends years ago but didn't start dating until many years later. I moved to Canberra and we used to bond over obscure movies and art installations. I especially love Abstract Expressionism and Lach loves light art installations. After a few years we realised we had a connection that was more than just friendship. We went to Europe to travel through Germany, and both really wanted to visit this museum for light art installations in a tiny town called Unna. Lach proposed to me in front of a giant installation that "scans" you and you become part of the exhibition. We couldn't take photos but if the exhibit gets moved we'll be in there with it. It was super sweet and memorable.
How long were you planning your original wedding for and what did it look like?
Lachlan: We started planning our wedding about a year before the date - with family coming from overseas, and with a specific significant date in mind, we decided that we needed the extra time to make it right.
Our plan was to have both the ceremony and reception at the NGA in the Sculpture Garden. We are huge art buffs and the setting really fit us, and gave us a great excuse to have all of our family and friends from across the world in one place at the one time.
Meagan: I'm an only child so having my parents here was important to me. They've never been over to Australia so I was excited for them to see my new home and meet Lach's family.
We go to the NGA a lot. The fog sculpture there is one that I was really hoping to have "on" for our reception. I could just picture the photos. The artist is from Japan and we saw her speak about her sculpture awhile back. I wasn't really sure of where I wanted to have our wedding because I wanted something a little more art-oriented and as I was walking around in the fog, I came out near the "Cones" sculpture all I could think of was, "This is it. This is the place."
How close to the wedding date did you need to change your plans?
Lachlan: We knew that we would have to change what we were planning in early March, when flights from overseas started being cancelled. When the venue announced two weeks beforehand that they would be shut, we had to dramatically change the wedding we envisioned.
Meagan: We were calling and asking to postpone parts of our reception up to a few days before. Luckily everyone was really helpful. We originally were to be married under the Cones so technically on the day we had to change to closer to the gallery to keep from getting too wet!
Tell me a little bit about things from the perspective of your travelling guests.
Lachlan: It was pretty tragic for everyone - it was going to be the collation of our most important friends and family from every corner of the globe, and the excitement leading up to it was incredible. In a sad way, we were lucky - our guests had organised and paid for their own travel, and we encouraged them early to get refunds when offered as we could see the writing on the wall. Certainly calls to the mother- and father-of-the-bride were the hardest ones we had to make to say, "Don't come, it's too risky".
Meagan: My parents told me I needed to call them and we just knew that the airlines had started cancelling flights. They were devastated. They were having to cancel everything last minute but they did get a refund. I ended up contacting everyone individually but then putting up a silly Facebook post "un-inviting everyone" to my wedding, and to announce that we were considering a stream of it. This last part made some of my friends and family overseas excited because Australia is too far, but they would be able to stay up late and watch. It's crazy that earlier in January people were seeing my photos of the smoke and wondering if they'd come to Australia to see scorched earth and had people asking me if I would postpone safety. Then just a few months later no one could come here anyways.
Did you ever consider postponing the wedding until your friends and family could travel again?
Lachlan: We did go back and forth on this (thought about pushing to later in the year, or moving out a full year), but circled back to why we were having the ceremony - this was a moment for us first and foremost, and the date was picked for a reason, so we made the call to go ahead and roll with the changes as they came.
Meagan: We had already been engaged for well over a year, and I think we just didn't want to push it back. You spend so much time thinking about the day that it makes it really sad if you have to cancel everything. I think we realised that even if we moved our ceremony to a year from the date, the danger may still be around and we'd be faced with the same decision.
Did you receive any criticism for going ahead with the smaller style?
Lachlan: Not at all - it was really lovely to see the support, and everyone was so understanding because it was all so far out of our control.
Meagan: Only support which was nice. It was going to be small anyways.
Did it make you sad to not be able to celebrate with your guests in person, or was it better than you had hoped for?
Lachlan: Sneakily, we had always talked about having an ultra-small ceremony, but felt that if we were flying people to see us we should go all-out - not having people there was bittersweet, but we did find ways to involve them in the day, and I had my sister there on the day to act as signatory which meant the world.
Meagan: It was actually very relaxed. No stress or issues at the venue or drunken cousins causing trouble, or people falling into the pond.
Tell me more about the day of the wedding.
Lachlan: We were graciously provided a hotel room for the day of the ceremony by the NGA. Although they were going to be closed, they were incredibly supportive of us still going ahead with our outdoor ceremony and using the space we originally planned. We travelled separately - my sister acted as a single-person bridal party, and we drove ourselves to the ceremony. I got there first and met with our photographer, Doug from Studio Vita, and waited for the moment my bride-to-be arrived.
Meagan: I got ready by myself, did my own hair and makeup (which was the plan anyways as I don't like to make a fuss) and got myself together before Lach's sister came and picked me up. Doug helped us to keep me a little out of sight until we were supposed to see each other. It was really fun.
What did you do after the wedding ceremony?
Lachlan: Once the ceremony was done, we worked with our photographer to take some of the most surreal and beautifully uninterrupted photos you've ever seen! The entire triangle around the NGA was without another soul in sight, so we seized the chance for pictures that would normally be impossible to take.
Meagan: It was raining lightly and that made for some fun photos with no one around and lots of reflections.
What streaming service did you end up using for your guests?
Lachlan: As most of our guests had Facebook accounts, we chose to create a Facebook event and stream there. It meant that, whilst we couldn't hear other guests talking to us, they could still comment and interact live with one another in the chat. As well as that, we ended up having a great filmed copy of our wedding saved for posterity!
Did everyone manage to log on and grasp the streaming logistics?
Lachlan: Not too much tech trouble on the day. There was a few nervous minutes whilst we made sure all the key guests of honour were online, but I had spent a bit of time with everyone going through how to access the stream in the days before and had a wonderful family playing technical consultants for me as backup.
Meagan: We did go out there and do some tests in preparation a few days before to see what we would be able to do and make sure we had signal in our area.
What was the feedback like from your guests after the ceremony?
Lachlan: We consistently get comments from our friends that it has been the highlight for their year. It was a strange and frightening moment for everyone, and the level of joy you can give people by just showing up and expressing your love for another human is more than you can ever anticipate.
Meagan: I have had some friends tell me it has been the highlight of their year, which is really heart warming. I'm glad I got to share the moment with everyone no matter how far flung we've all become.
Share your best tip for couples who are in a similar situation to yours.
Lachlan: The biggest tip I have is to acknowledge that your ceremony is not going to be what you planned. We are meticulous schedulers in our lives, and so knew down to the minute what our ceremony was supposed to look like originally. That sort of rigidity wasn't going to be possible anymore. Once we accepted that so much was out of our control, we just went along with it and rolled with the punches and ended up having an absolutely wonderful time.
Meagan: Have a plan B and make sure it is one that you are happy with. I work in risk management so maybe this just comes naturally for me. Every new change brought a new opportunity for us! I think people get too stuck in their un-bendable mental image of "the big day" instead of seeing all the interesting opportunities that are available to them.
What were the pros and cons of the ceremony?
Lachlan: The big pro is not having to worry about anyone else! All we had to do was show up ourselves, and everyone else would be at home in their PJs - no coordination of cars, no working out who sits where - it made everything very relaxing. The big con is the same thing though - there's something bittersweet about wanting someone by your side when you're getting married and knowing that they can't be there.
Meagan: Agreed. Pro - There was also no stress of being late or ignoring people to do what you want on the day. Con - Not having those people to be there. I think there is usually cheers and fanfare when the ceremony ends. For us it was some music and waving at a phone on a tripod but looking back at the recording I could see my friends and family sending us messages and it is really sweet.
Now, I have to make sure he gets his gold star on this one - how was your experience with Michael throughout the whole experience?
Lachlan: Michael was incredible - he worked with us right up to the deadline ensuring we had everything ready, and making adjustments to the ceremony to suit the new conditions. His words made everyone on the other end of the camera feel up close and with us on the day, and I can't thank him enough.
Meagan: Michael was fantastic and made our day easy and fun. I liked how he really listened to what we wanted from our ceremony and he came up with a beautiful ceremony that we truly felt comfortable with.
What suppliers did you use for the wedding? Did you have to cancel or request refunds from anyone?
Lachlan: For flowers, we used West Row Botanica. Dave was an absolute wonder and did some incredible work finding flowers even as restrictions made them harder to get. Our other suppliers understood the situation completely and we've either cancelled and been refunded, or in a few select cases have deferred for a future date.
Is there anything else you'd like to add for our readers?
Lachlan: I'd like to thank Doug from Studio Vita. Not only was he our photographer on the day, he also acted as signatory because we could have so few people present - above and beyond! I'd also like to add, there's no reason why you can't still have a reception later that is what you originally planned. Who knows exactly when it will be, but fingers crossed we can get all of our friends and family together as we originally planned sometime soon.
Meagan: I'd like to thank Ben and the team from Creations Jewellers of Manuka who helped with emergency re-sizing my engagement ring so it would fit along with my wedding ring. We got our rings custom made from there and they are always fantastic! They also helped us by getting us an umbrella that was the perfect shade of orange (to match our colours) as it was raining on the day and we weren't sure what we would do. They helped keep my day easy.
There you have it! A heartfelt and intimate ceremony, adapted to be just as enjoyable despite a global pandemic and a rainy day.
If you’d like to read more about how Lachlan and Meagan decided which streaming service to use, you can find a helpful flow chart here.
If you have any other questions about Lachlan and Meagan’s wedding, or about having your own ceremony that complies with the current Government restrictions, please get in touch.
All photos by Studio Vita.
Thank you to Lachlan and Meagan for sharing your story.