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After getting engaged in front of the flamingos at the San Diego Zoo, Cooper Hall and Megan Spansel had originally planned to tie the knot in front of 40 guests at a scenic vineyard outside of Austin, Texas. But once Covid-19 hit and didn't go away, the couple quickly pivoted. They pushed their wedding date back, relocated to a smaller site on their original venue's property, and downsized their guest list to just five immediate family members.
For their intimate celebration, the couple chose a foil-pressed wedding invitation (" Watercolor Delight" by Petra Kern) that features a floral pattern that "reminded us of wildflowers that can be found at our venue," Megan says. Here, she shares their wedding story.
We met on OkCupid in 2014.
We got engaged on June 14, 2019, at the San Diego Zoo. I love pandas, so we planned a vacation to San Diego to include a trip to the San Diego Zoo. Cooper thought it would be cute to propose during a special visit with the pandas. However, one month before our trip, the pandas were sent back to China and his plan was ruined. Instead, he decided to book a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo and planned to have the zoo staff assist with the proposal. On June 14, after we arrived at the zoo, Cooper got a call that the tour had been cancelled. As a consolation, the zoo offered to provide a photographer, who would meet us at a location of his choosing and take photos of the proposal. I never suspected a thing and was completely shocked to be proposed to while taking a photo in front of the flamingos. Even though the proposal did not go as planned, it was perfect.
The biggest wedding-planning challenge was the unknown of the pandemic. Our original wedding date was May 2, 2020. However, in March, less than two months before our wedding date, we decided to cancel. We quickly rescheduled to June 27 but had a hard time making plans as we were unsure if we would be able to have our wedding on our rescheduled date.
Our biggest adjustment was the amount of guests invited. Our original wedding plans included 40 guests. Because of the pandemic, we had to make the tough decision of who to include in our new date. For the safety of all involved, we decided to cut our guest list to our immediate family in Austin. Another adjustment we made was the location of our wedding. Fortunately our original wedding venue has a gorgeous home on their property that was perfect for our new, smaller wedding.
We wanted a design that had a floral pattern and lavender colors to match our palette. The flowers on the invites we chose—"Watercolor Delight" by Petra Kern—reminded us of wildflowers that can be found at our venue.
The mood of our wedding was "elevated family dinner." We wanted the celebration to feel intimate and cozy, but also beautiful. We imagined all of our guests sitting at one large table for dinner, then mingling together after the meal at smaller tables and lounge areas.
Our original color palette was lavender and grey/silver. Our wedding was originally supposed to take place in the spring, so we thought those colors would be soft and pretty for that time of the year. Even though our wedding date changed, we decided to stick with our original colors.
Our ceremony was held in a field overlooking the vineyard, with minimal decorations. We wanted the view to speak for itself. Since we were marrying at a vineyard, we chose to do a wine-blending ceremony. Together we blended a red wine and a white wine to create a rosé. It was a fun way to represent the location of our wedding and the start of our life together.
Following the ceremony, we had our reception dinner at a home on the property of our venue—we all sat at a table on the patio overlooking the vineyard. There was festoon lighting and twinkle lights hanging in the trees.
Give yourself grace. Planning a wedding is stressful enough without adding a pandemic on top of it. Your wedding can still be beautiful and special even if it is not the one you originally imagined.
Wedding invitation
“Watercolor Delight” by Petra Kern
Save the date
“Big Frame” by Jessica Williams
Photographer: Bear Moose & Fox Fine Art Photography
Venue: The Vineyard at Florence
Planner: Watson Weddings
Stationery: Minted
Dress: "Chic Nostalgia purchased from Serendipity Bridal
Suit: Capra & Cavelli
Officiant: Short and Sweet Weddings
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