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When we sent our invitations last month, we did so with cautious optimism. Knowing full-well the importance of the socially restricting measures in place, we selfishly hoped to see those measures work quickly enough to allow our wedding to move ahead as we dreamed it since our engagement. Unfortunately, our hopes have not been realized. Now a few days into May, it is clear that it will not be possible to hold our wedding at the venue we had planned. Neither do we feel comfortable asking so many to gather in one place. Although we sincerely wish to celebrate with you, we also refuse to be blind to our environment. Sadly, we will not be able to host a celebration with all of our friends & families. In spite of all of this, Kim and I feel strongly about God’s calling on our lives. Marriage is not simply an excuse to eat, drink, and be merry with as many people as you can afford. We believe it is a spiritual and metaphysical reality even truer than many of the concrete things we see every day. As such, we feel that our fervor to begin our lives together is right and good, not shallow or shortsighted. Because of this, we refuse to delay or postpone.

Kim and I will be married on May 24th 2020 in a local warehouse. We will be joined by our pastor, our immediate families, our bridal party, and a handful of our closest community. We ask your forgiveness and hope you understand our decision to move forward with our wedding ceremony in this way. We do, however, also ask you to look forward to our one-year anniversary, where we plan to invite all of you again to the kind of party we wanted to have this month. Rest assured, we do still plan to celebrate with those who can make it in one year’s time! Kim and I remain optimistic. The joy we feel in anticipation of our future together vastly outweighs the disappointment we feel over these current circumstances. We hold all of you in our hearts and await with joy the chance to see you again. Until that time, may the love, grace, and peace of God be with you all. Sincerely, Mr. and (future) Mrs. Austen Barraclough P.S. Our registry is still open ;)