“Love always wins!”

Meagen and Joshua got married on 2 May 2020 at Saint Joseph’s Parish in East Maitland.

That became the mantra for Meagen and Joshua, both of them frontline workers, as pandemic restrictions kept forcing them to change their wedding plans.

“We went from a reception for over 100 guests to an elopement style ceremony with just five people,” she says. “But we decided the most important thing was to simply get married. And we live streamed our wedding so all our friends and families could still watch from the safety of their homes.” Most of their vendors couldn’t provide their services and Meagen ended up baking the wedding cake and doing her own makeup. Her favourite flowers in soft pinks and whites were hard to come by due to Covid-19 restrictions and with the pandemic raging, they couldn’t even get time off for an at-home-honeymoon.

In a final twist, they woke up to gale force winds on their wedding day. “I thought, after all this, couldn’t the world just give us perfect weather?” she says. “But Laurie, our photographer, was amazing. She made it all look calm and wonderful. In the end, the whole process brought Josh and I closer together and showed us that all that matters is that we are married and that we will spend our lives together.

The party can wait.” They are currently planning to finally celebrate with their friends and families on the first anniversary of their elopement. “It will be one heck of a party!” they promise.

Venue: St Joseph’s, East Maitland;
Catering: Fratelli Roma, Maitland;
Marriage celebrant: Father Paul O’Neil;
Wedding cake: the bride;
Wedding dress: Stella York, Brides to Be Somersby
Hair & makeup: Gloss Girl Makeup;
Flowers: Hunter Valley Bouquets;
Photography: 3L Photography, Laurie Skovgaard