Instead of envisioning my wedding day full of lace, makeup, and earrings, I have been tightening my n95 mask and wearing my surgical cap and gloves. Going to work every day, praying that I could protect myself well enough to not bring a virus home to my family was a feeling I have never experienced before. I knew that if I could remain healthy, it would all be okay. Over the last few months, my husband and I have slept in separate beds, showered in different bathrooms, and even used separate couches.
From one Nurse and Bride to Another:
On Acceptance
Trying to get married in the middle of a pandemic has not been easy, as you can imagine. Just about every aspect of our ‘big’ day has been altered. It was incredibly easy to become bitter and angry with the situation, but as the weeks grew closer and we realized that our day was not at all going to be what we had planned, we stayed determined to still make it ours. We changed our formal plans to informal, went with the flow, and prayed that everything would work out for the better. We learned a valuable lesson of acceptance along the way. We accepted that we were not in control. Once we faced that fact, we were able to build our relationship even more.
We accepted that we were not in control.
On Perspective
As an emergency room nurse, I knew early on that our wedding would not go as planned. I knew COVID-19 was not simply going to go away. Months ago, we both agreed that we would do our best to protect our family and friends, even if that meant postponing the reception. We decided on an intimate ceremony with only parents and the bridal party and moved the reception to the end of the summer.
On Positivity
Finding the positives in this situation was honestly difficult at first. It is easy to quickly become angry and upset when everything you had planned for has been canceled or postponed. But, as a frontline-working emergency nurse, I realized that each day that I go home healthy is a blessing.
With every new challenge, we leaned on each other to make the difficult decisions we knew we had to make. I was constantly told by family and friends, “God would not be challenging you with this if he did not have faith that you could overcome it.” Delightfully, we accepted the challenge.
I realized that each day that I go home healthy is a blessing.
Advice for Other Brides
It is most important to focus on each other. At the end of the day, you go to bed next to the same person that you marry. Whether the ceremony occurs with 10 of your closest family members or a 400 person reception. Learning to focus on each other is what helped our relationship prosper throughout these challenging times.
Miranda has been an ER nurse at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital – Jefferson City for three years. She enjoys time with family and friends, working out, and has been married for four days at the time of this posting.
Photography by: Brittany Albertson | Red Shed Chaos on Facebook | redshedchaos@yahoo.com
Publisher’s Note:
Congratulations to Alexander and Miranda Luebbert! And Happy Nurses Day to all our nurses out there. You are strong, resilient, and an inspiration to us all. Thank you.