ByCyreia Sandlin|May 14, 2020 at 11:34 AM EDT - Updated May 14 at 11:34 AM
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - So many people have had to cancel or postpone some of life’s biggest celebrations due to the coronavirus. From birthdays to graduation ceremonies, we’re all missing out on big events.
One Savannah couple had to make some drastic changes for their wedding day but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Stacie and Corey Phillips had a beautiful wedding planned with a 200-person guest list to celebrate their marriage. Then came COVID-19.
“I was at work one day, I called him and said our wedding is ruined! He assured me it’s not ruined, we’re still going to get married," Stacie said.
“Everything started coming, and building up, we weren’t going back to school, everything was canceled, it seemed kind of glum," Corey added.
Stacie has one daughter and Corey has four sons, so their wedding was about more than just them. They were uniting their families as one, and they wanted all of their loved ones to be able to participate.
“After we realized we would have to cut our list from 200 to 10, we thought, what can we do to make sure our family can still join in, we have family across the country,” Stacie said.
“Stacie had the idea to do it live on Facebook. We chose a spot, Wormsloe, it turned out nice," Corey said.
On a beautiful spring day, Stacie and Corey said “I do.”
A picture-perfect socially distanced wedding. And one of the benefits of getting married during a pandemic? No crowds. Local photographer Somi Benson-Jaja got creative.
“Our photographer asked us, do you still want pictures? What area do you want to take pictures in? First thing I said was Jones Street,” Corey explained. “Mrs. Wilkes was the spot the photographer chose because, during this time of year, it would be a line wrapped around the corner with people waiting!”
And that wasn’t the only plus side. The power of social media worked in their favor, as hundreds tuned in for the live stream.
Stacie said, “We were probably able to have more people join in to be able to celebrate with us than we would have if we were able to physically do it.”
Both agreed, the special circumstances surrounding their wedding really put it all into perspective.
“It really made me see the bigger part of it. If you love someone, take out the glitz and glam, and still want to marry that person, you know that’s love,” Stacie said.
Their love, also a ray of light, giving others hope in a difficult time.
“We just wanted to still celebrate love, good things are still happening right now," the couple said.
Photo: WTOC