So, here we are in the midst of a most brutal pandemic – Covid 19. Like you, I watched it abuse China, then my beloved Italy, and so on. It’s scary and has blown up our First World way of life. We can’t be with our friends, except virtually or from a distance. We are afraid to touch ANYTHING at the store. We look at each other, while running essential errands, and wonder, “do you have the corona?”
One of the greatest impacts of the virus on our community in Dripping Springs, Texas, was the ban on gatherings. Hundreds of weddings this spring were cancelled or postponed. Dripping Springs is The Wedding Capital of Texas, hosting more weddings each year than anywhere else in the State. So our wedding venues and lodging properties took a huge hit. It pained us to console our couples through this inevitable, and heartbreaking, process of cancelling and rescheduling.
Most couples rescheduled for the fall, but some could not. One of our couples had planned for more than a year and a half to be married at Hill Country Casitas in March and spend that weekend with family and friends from out of state. When they were forced to cancel their wedding, they grieved. And we grieved with them. All those dreams of their wedding weekend gone.
After a week or so, our couple considered an elopement, just the two of them, their two dogs, and two friends. We found an officiant, got a cake and made it happen. It was bittersweet, but love cannot be quarantined.
Since then, we have received lots of requests for elopements – just the two of them! We are excited to play a small role in the union of two people during this horrific time. Our next elopement is tomorrow, and I will be officiating as an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church. I never thought I would ever officiate a wedding, but so many of these couples are struggling financially, and I am cheap.
So, now we are ELOPEMENT CENTRAL. We are working with our friends, local experts and professionals in cake artistry, photography, and more! Special packages for couples determined to start their lives together during a time when the future is so unclear, one thing is clear. Love cannot be quarantined.
Hill Country Casitas
hillcountrycasitas.com