The bride shows her grandmother her dress by the window because of a coronavirus

• Margaret and the Rev. Ford were supposed to have a wedding to 255 guests on April 4, 2020, but the coronavirus forced them to cancel the event.
• At the same time, Margaret’s grandmother was diagnosed with leukemia, which means that she could not attend any type of marriage celebration for her granddaughter because she is immunocompromised.
• The Ford family decided to organize a small wedding of 25 people planned for a week.
• The couple also visited Margaret’s grandmother after the ceremony, showing her the bride and groom’s attire through a window so that she could be part of the day.
• Visit the Insider home page for more stories.

Margaret and the Reverend Ford had been planning their wedding for over a year when they realized they had to cancel it.

The couple from Charlotte, North Carolina, met on Bumble in 2017 and got engaged in October 2018.

They were supposed to have plenty of time to plan their wedding in 2020, which was to take place after Margaret’s graduation from law school.

But they couldn’t plan the coronavirus.

Their wedding of 255 guests was to take place on April 4, 2020

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“We had a commitment of about a year and a half,” said Margaret Ford to Insider. “We have been waiting for this date for so long.”

But as the date approached, the coronavirus pandemic had intensified in the United States, leading North Carolina to ban gatherings of more than 100 people.

The ban made them realize that the marriage could not continue as planned. They officially canceled it on Saturday March 14.

“Whenever you plan your wedding, you never expect it to happen,” Margaret told Insider.

At the same time, Margaret’s family was shaken after discovering that her grandmother had cancer

The Wednesday before the marriage was canceled, Margaret’s grandmother was diagnosed with a form of leukemia.

The diagnosis meant that she would not be able to attend any type of marriage that Margaret and Rev had in the coming weeks because she is immunocompromised.

“This week has seemed like forever,” said Margaret. “It was just like we continued to be punched in the face over and over.”

Margaret’s grandmother had been involved in planning the wedding from the start, even buying Margaret’s wedding dress and veil for her.

Margaret had planned that her grandmother and mother would dress her on her wedding day, but that would be impossible due to her grandmother’s condition.

“It was devastating,” she said when she discovered that her grandmother could not come to her wedding. “It was absolutely.”

“It’s just hard to be in a state of the world right now when everything seems to be unexpected and unknown.”

After discussing it with their families, Margaret and Rev decided to get married a week later in front of a small group of people.

When they decided to cancel, it was Margaret who raised the marriage the following Saturday, March 21.

“We just said that we have to boil down to” What is the purpose of a marriage? “”, She said about their thinking about the event.

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“It’s love and really being with your immediate family,” she said, and Rev agreed.

“So we searched on Google how to plan a wedding in six days and we went to town,” she said.

They reduced their guest list from 255 people to 25 people, and they were ready to reduce the guest list to 10 people if public health guidelines became more stringent.

Marriage met in just six days

They considered getting married in a hospital chapel. Margaret’s grandmother was still in treatment, but the spread of the coronavirus made the Ford understand that this could put her at risk.

They also decided that it was in Margaret’s grandmother’s interest that her family no longer visit her physically because they wanted to prevent her from getting the virus or any other illness.

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The family affair finally took place at St. Lutheran’s James Church in Concord, North Carolina. Rev’s grandfather was an official.

Stephanie Axtell Photography and videography documented the event.

The wedding was broadcast live so their friends could watch the event from the security of their homes.

“It’s out of everyone’s control, so all we can do is make the most of a pretty terrible situation,” said Margaret of the marriage.

The couple also had an even smaller family reception, where they cut a cake and shared a first dance.

Although her grandmother could not attend the wedding in person, Margaret made sure she was still part of the day

Margaret FaceTimed’s aunt’s grandmother throughout the wedding ceremony, so that she could see her granddaughter getting married.

“As soon as we got to the end of the aisle, we were able to talk to her and she was the first to congratulate us,” Margaret told Insider of her grandmother’s role during the day.

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Margaret and Rev were also able to see her in person on their wedding day through a well-placed window.

A few days before the wedding, Margaret’s grandmother was transferred to a new hospital room that had a window.

When Margaret and Rev discovered that her grandmother could see the hospital parking lot from her point of view, they decided to visit her after their wedding ceremony.

“We just decided that she should see us. She couldn’t be physically there, but the least we could do is go up to her window, so that she could see us as husband and wife,” said said Margaret.

“It was so hard that she was not there. But I couldn’t do not see her on my wedding day. “

Margaret’s family has captured video footage of the day.

“We made the most of the situation, and I would have done everything to have my grandmother there,” said Margaret.

“But the fact that she was able to look virtually and that we were able to visit her and that she saw me in my wedding dress afterwards, it just meant the world to us.”

“She’s in great shape right now,” said Margaret of her grandmother. “We just can’t wait for her to heal as soon as possible from this.”

Margaret also noted that there is a shortage of blood donors in the midst of the pandemic it can help people like her grandmother, and she urged those who are able to donate as soon as they can.

Margaret said she would advise other couples who have weddings planned for spring 2020 to get married sooner than later.

“When Rev and I decided to get married in six days and move our date, we really strayed from the current situation,” said Margaret.

“We had to remember the real reason for the marriage.”

“We held it on April 4,” she added, saying that the date of the original marriage had become important to them during their planning, which made it difficult to accept that they had to postpone.

“Our wedding rings are engraved on April 4.”

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“But we couldn’t hang on to the date anymore. We just had to hang on to the love we had for each other.”

“By giving up the date and choosing March 24, we found so much happiness and so much love. Even if it is a difficult decision, if everyone can come back to the reason why you are marrying the person you you are marrying, why wait? ”

“You have to be able to go through times like this together,” added Margaret, noting that the marriage also allowed her to benefit from Rev’s health insurance, which is more important than ever because of the pandemic.

“Instead of going on honeymoon, we called her human resources department and got her health insurance,” she said jokingly about their first actions after the wedding.

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Now the Ford cars are in quarantine at their home in Charlotte, which they are trying to think of as a mini-honeymoon.

They had planned a trip to Saint Lucia in April which is unlikely to happen.

“We are just refocusing our focus,” said Margaret. “Spending time together is the most important thing, and it doesn’t matter if we’re on a beach or inside our house in Charlotte.”

“We just enjoy each other’s time.”