Neighbors Greeted the Newlyweds with Signs and Confetti at This Sweet Backyard Wedding Ceremony in Charlottesville
The first weekend in April, Lena Turkheimer, a recent medical school graduate, and real estate investment banker Mark Owen were supposed to be getting married at Early Mountain Vineyard in Charlottesville, Virginia. In early March, the Governor of Virginia started putting restrictions on gatherings due to the spread of COVID-19, initially stipulating that events couldn’t be larger than 100 people. “At that point, we were thinking we still may be able to have our wedding as planned with family and our wedding party only,” Lena explains. But soon, it became clear to the couple that even 100 people wouldn’t be possible.
“Our venue made the official decision to cancel our wedding as originally planned due to further restrictions from the Governor,” Lena says. “It actually was a relief to have the decision about canceling out of our hands. It was fairly stressful trying to figure out what to do next. Lots of re-reading through all of our vendor contracts see what it would mean to cancel verse reschedule.” They eventually decided to reschedule their wedding celebration to April 2021, with all of the same vendors, but wanted to do something to commemorate their original date.
Lena and Mark met on New Year’s Eve at a bar in Charlottesville. “Mark’s younger brother is actually one of my medical school classmates,” Lena explains. “We all grew up in Charlottesville, and we were home visiting our families [for the holidays]. Mark lived in New York City, while I was in school in Virginia, so we started dating long distance.” Eventually, Mark was able to move to Washington, D.C. to be closer to Lena, and then ultimately to Roanoke, where she was in medical school.
They had been dating for two and half years when they got engaged while in Charlottesville for Lena’s five-year college reunion at the University of Virginia. “Mark had my college friends, who were all in town, tell me to come meet them at a vineyard,” Lena remembers. She arrived, and her friends were nowhere to be foundd. Mark purposefully had their dogs run off towards the lake at the winery, so that they would be forced to go somewhere picturesque and away from other people, and he could pop the question. He had a photographer waiting in the wings to capture the moment. Afterwards, they went back to his parents’ house where their friends and families surprised them with champagne.
Home played a significant role in Lena and Mark’s meeting and engagement, so it turned out to be a fitting place for their vows. Almost immediately after rescheduling their big event, they started planning something much more intimate for their original date—both so they wouldn’t have to wait to be married and to ensure the day wasn’t depressing—and they worked with Dickie Morris from Just a Little Ditty to pull everything together for their small backyard ceremony.
The bride wore the white Revolve jumpsuit that she’d originally planned on wearing to her rehearsal/welcome party, and Mark was in a blue suit. “We thought that any wedding dress and Mark’s tuxedo would be too formal and that it would be nice to save them for our 2021 wedding,” Lena explains. She accessorized with a pair of her mother’s earrings, gifted to her by Lena’s grandmother. “I am not someone who frequently wears makeup and am always relying on my friends and sister to do it for big events,” the bride explains. “We kept joking that I never imagined a scenario where I would be the most qualified person doing my makeup at my own wedding, but I think it turned out okay!”
Initially, the hope was to have both Lena and Mark’s immediate families there, but that soon became another impossibility as they all needed to travel from in and out of state. “In the end, it was just us and both of our parents there in person,” Lena says. “Our officiant, wedding party, and family were all in attendance via Zoom.” The ceremony was kept fairly short and sweet, so as not to make the service next April feel repetitive. There were some technical issues with the Zoom component at first (Lena recommends doing an audio test-run), but they were able to adjust mid-ceremony. Ultimately, the digital medium had its benefits: “We were able to feel very relaxed during the ceremony because of how low-key it was,” Lena says. “Not having 200+ people there watching in person also made it less nerve-wracking.”
Afterward, they were surprised by neighbors with signs, confetti, and noise makers at the end of the driveway. “We were not expecting this!” Lena remembers. “And it ended up being one of our favorite parts of the day. Some of our good friends even came bearing a huge pack of toilet paper as a gift.”
After that, each of their parents made toasts, while guests were still looking on via Zoom. “This was probably the highlight of the day, because we were able to actually see who had dialed in and interact with everyone virtually,” Lena says. “It was great to see all of the creative outfits that people were wearing—lots of people only dressed up from the waist up. There was an old prom dress, and even a bathrobe. We ended the day by eating pizza from one of our favorite local restaurants and a wedding cake that my mom made! Overall, we were so pleased with how the day turned out. We couldn’t believe how special and fun it ended up being. There was something really nice about being able to really simplify and focus on the things that matter most.”
Photo: Sarah Cramer Shields1/32Getting dressed with my mother in my parent’s home.
Photo: Sarah Cramer Shields2/32Me and my father working on setting up a Zoom meeting.
