The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A Spalding couple who were due to marry on Saturday are marking what would have been their big day with a special virtual ceremony.
Kirsty Woods (29) and Ryan McClenaghan (31) had been planning their wedding for two years and were devastated when the coronavirus pandemic forced them to postpone.
Kirsty said: “We were having a church ceremony followed by the reception in a marquee in my parents’ garden.
“It’s very hard but it’s happened and we have to deal with it.
“We could have gone ahead within the guidelines but I wanted all my friends and family to be able to celebrate safely with us so we immediately decided to postpone.”
The couple didn’t want the day to pass without note, so to mark the occasion they are having a virtual handfasting ceremony at 2pm on Saturday.
Kirsty said: “I was on the internet when I came across handfasting, which is an old Celtic tradition – it’s sort of half way between engagement and marriage – and I thought it would be a nice way to mark the day.
“Although we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to rebook everything, I didn’t want to let our original date pass by without doing something.”
Kirsty and Ryan have booked a celebrant and will be joined by family and friends over Zoom for the ceremony.
Kirsty, who is a sales assistant at Claire’s Accessories, has bought a new dress for the occasion, ensuring her wedding dress will remain a surprise for their new date, May 22, 2021.
She added: “I can’t thank our suppliers enough. They’ve all been amazing and so understanding.
“We’ve been able to move everything to the new date – even the shop I’ve bought my dress from has agreed to look after it for me for the next year.”
Kirsty met Ryan, who works for Pullman Carriers, in 2016 and they got engaged in 2018.
She said: “Both my parents and Ryan’s will be on Zoom on Saturday, along with our close family and the bridal party.
“Little milestones, like the day the marquee would have gone up, or my last hair appointment have been hard, but this has given us and our family something to look forward to.”
