- Anastasija and Josh Davis were supposed to have a 135 people wedding but had to downsize due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- They held a small ceremony in Josh’s parents’ house. Then they surprised friends by holding up signs and blowing music out of their cars.
- Photos from their neighborhood party have been shared on Facebook over 18,000 times. Many commentators said the heartwarming turn of events had given them hope.
- You can find more stories on the Insider homepage.
Anastasija and Josh Davis from British Columbia, Canada, were due to get married on April 3rd in front of 135 guests.
“We got our decor, we got our party favors, we got our music, we got our DJ, photographer, everything,” Anastasija told Insider. “Everything was planned until about three weeks before our wedding.”
“And then, COVID,” said Josh.
As the coronavirus pandemic escalated, it became clear that they needed to rethink their wedding plans. Anastasija’s brother and sister-in-law, who were supposed to deliver the decorations, got stuck in Europe. More guests began to cancel when other borders closed. Then gatherings of over 50 people were banned to slow the spread of the disease.
Anastasija and Josh decided to postpone the wedding for a few weeks and limit the presence of only one family, as well as Josh’s friend, who serves as his best man.
“We can’t even express how hard it was to tell all of our friends that we were so excited to say at our wedding, ‘Not only are we postponing the date, you can’t come,” said Anastasia. “It was heartbreaking. But we came to the conclusion that we could either move or just get married.”
The couple exchanged vows in Josh’s parents’ living room, which were decorated with white fabric covers.
They got married with Josh’s parents.
Courtesy Anastasija and Josh Davis
“It felt very personal and very intimate,” said Josh. “What do you really need when you get married? You don’t need all the things, all the decorations, all these things. You just really need family and maybe some close friends and we had that.”
The newly married couple then drove in a limo (“We couldn’t cancel the limo,” Josh said) across the neighborhood to another location for photos. Then the best man told them to roll down the window.
“I see a friend of mine and another friend of mine and another friend,” Josh said. “All these familiar faces from the church line the street, all in their cars. We just collapsed.”
Surprise!
With kind permission of JL Frew
“They honked their horns, cheered and shouted congratulations,” said Anastasia. “Josh and I were shocked. We cried, we couldn’t believe this was happening. Seeing you on the street, celebrating our day with us, made it so magical.”
“Nothing can stop love. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Davis!”
With kind permission of JL Frew
Friends and members of their church had coordinated the night before to line the streets with signs, pompoms and garlands from their cars to congratulate them while they distanced themselves socially.
Celebrate while social distancing.
Courtesy of JL Frew
“We were walking down the street to say hello to people some distance away,” she said. “We couldn’t hug, we couldn’t do anything. But they turned the music on and we had our first dance on the street with some friends and random neighbors who were around us.”
The couple’s first dance.
With kind permission of JL Frew
A family friend posted photos of the celebration on Facebook, where they were shared over 18,000 times.
“We read the comments and people were so graceful and said they would tear them apart and that brings them so much joy,” said Anastasia. “Seeing how much people appreciate that really made us feel good.”
Although they didn’t have the wedding reception they were hoping for, it turned out to be a day they will never forget.
“It was so far beyond what we could have imagined,” said Josh.
His wife agrees.
“It was way better than planned,” she said.
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