Love in COVID: Intimate Marfa Wedding

I have been obsessed with April’s Marfa wedding. Everything, and I do mean everything, is so perfectly them and was the best way to handle having a wedding during COVID. Even the usual wedding stress, not to mention COVID, is enough to send anyone over the edge, much-less a destination Marfa wedding is hard to manage! I thrilled to get to share their Marfa wedding.

Marfa Wedding Planning

We got engaged on October 1, 2019 and set a wedding date soon after for May 23, 2020. We live in Austin and decided to have a destination wedding in Marfa, TX which is about a 7 hour drive from us. It was going to be a small, private ceremony at a local restaurant there with 15 total guests – us, our parents, siblings and a few other close family members. By the end of February pretty much everything was ready to go besides a few little details. Then March came around…

How did COVID change your wedding?

We were lucky to have already planned a small, simple ceremony with 15 guests total, so making changes was much easier than I’m sure it’s been for some couples. The biggest changes were the venue and the guest list. The restaurant we booked cancelled our reservation since they were going to remain closed for the foreseeable future. With that cancellation we lost our venue, seating, dinnerware and food and drink arrangements. After all the ups and downs of those past few months we decided we still wanted to celebrate, so we stuck with our original wedding date and pivoted to a new COVID-19 friendly plan.

For safety reasons we condensed our guest list and opted for an intimate elopement with 4 people total — us, my brother who was officiating and his girlfriend. Luckily the photographer and floral designer we had hired previously were still willing to participate. I found a gorgeous, private Airbnb that was available where we would also stay for the weekend (we had previously booked rooms at a hotel that we were able to cancel for a full refund). We ordered food in advance from a local restaurant that was offering take out. The dinner table, chairs and place settings we used were just from the kitchen of the Airbnb. 

How did you handle the change of plans and twists the pandemic created?

I decided to wait until the beginning of May to reach out to the restaurant about our reservation. I felt if I reached out any sooner they would definitely cancel since COVID-19 information was literally changing day by day at that time. Since I waited until only a few weeks before the wedding date to do that, we had to really make some fast decisions on how to proceed after the cancellation. I dedicated 3 full days to re-planning. We were lucky because we did plan such a small gathering, but even 15 people made us uneasy.

Marfa is a small town with no hospital. It felt irresponsible to bring a large group into their community which is why we ultimately decided to only invite my brother and his girlfriend. Since he was officiating it was essential for him to be there. Much of what was deemed not possible because of the pandemic we just had to be OK with and move forward with what we could do. I kind of thrive under pressure, so I actually enjoyed the rushed planning process. 

Your first wedding dress didn’t arrive in time, how did you handle that?

I pre-ordered a dress from a Denmark-based company in January that was supposed to be ready by the end of March. However, production was delayed due to COVID-19. By May they ended up telling me they wouldn’t have the dress in time. At that point I only had about a week to figure something out, so I had to think quickly. I decided to order an existing dress from the same company’s website and had them ship it overnight to me. Luckily it arrived a few days before we had to head to Marfa. It fit perfectly without needing any alterations.

But it wasn’t just me! My husband also didn’t have anything to wear as of a week before our ceremony. He didn’t order his suit until we decided to have the wedding for sure. Ordering online took longer to arrive than what was advertised (COVID delays!). When it did he didn’t love the fit. He was lucky because some department stores had just started to reopen. So he masked up and went to Nordstrom to get a suit. It needed some alterations and was ready the day before we left Austin!

What was your favorite moment of the day?

The “reception”! My husband and I put together a playlist of all of our favorite songs beforehand to dance to after the ceremony. There was a large entryway in the Airbnb that made for the perfect dance floor! The four of us ate, drank, chatted and danced all night. It was so much fun!

What advice would you give to other brides?

If you decide to re-plan your previously planned wedding during this time, be flexible. Try to keep things simple. Businesses are closed and short staffed. Shipments and deliveries are taking longer to arrive. Plus, you have to keep the health and safety of you, your guests and your community in mind. Certain things you’ll want to incorporate might not be possible right now and that’s OK. At the end of the day, being able to marry your partner is all that really matters!

Intimate Marfa Wedding Vendors

Locations: Private AirBnB | La Teirra in Marfa

Photographer: Jona Davis

Florals: Open Road Florals

Cake: Aster Marfa

Food: Jett’s Grill at the Hotel Pasiano

Dress: Cecilie Bhansen

Shoes: Gucci