Stan Hywet Microwedding

Trisha and Chris had a short but sweet Stan Hywet microwedding!

Please enjoy, Scott Shaw Photo | Cleveland Wedding Photographer

This year was their fifth anniversary of dating. Unlike many weddings they did not downsize their plans as they were originally
getting married overseas where their jobs often take them with a reception coming later.

Covid-19 changed that when they came back to the states just as everything was shutting down. This made it difficult to
obtain a marriage license and wedding fashions in Virginia. Their friend Tom was a licensed officiant in Virginia there
but he was not able to make it to Ohio where they decided to move the wedding.

Trisha’s best friend Katrina decided to get ordained as they didn’t want a random person officiating their wedding so
the wedding was moved to Ohio. 

They chose Stan Hywet Hall for the wedding day. The ceremony had to be less than 10 people total and they were unable to
hold any type of reception on the grounds. This is a gorgeous place for portraits after the wedding so it would work
perfectly. With the house and gardens there are so many beautiful backdrops for photographs.

Luckily Katrina had seen photos I had done of her friends wedding at Stan Hywet Hall and she recommended me to Trisha. 

Trisha: “Chris brought his parents from Virginia. Due to the virus, my grandma Jean offered them to stay at her house
instead of a hotel. That was a very sweet gesture and really started the families coming together off on the right foot!”

“Covid-19 made things challenging for us in that stores were closed, restaurants were only doing carryout and the venue
even had its own restrictions imposed by the state of Ohio. I turned to Facebook Marketplace for most of what we needed
for the wedding. I was able to find people to locally make or provide what we needed in a short period of time and we were
able to follow the Covid-19 guidelines for health and safety.

Chris had to find a tux online since all the stores were closed. His first one did not fit so he ordered a few more that
arrived five days before the wedding and one fit perfectly.

Trisha: “The dress was an amazing experience! In the beginning I didn’t even think I wanted a dress – just wanted to keep
things ultra simple. But as time went on I decided I would at least have something simple. My girlfriend from Colorado
does women’s formal wear and sent me a dress. Unfortunately it didn’t fit and I was one week out from our wedding day. So
I started looking on Facebook Marketplace. That first night I found a dress and I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it.
It was WAY bigger than what I thought I wanted, but it was SO pretty so I asked my best friend Katrina if she would go with
me to look at it. We went over to a house in Stow that night at 9:30 where we met Kawthar. She had gotten married not long
ago and the dress was in brand new condition.

“We all three went into her bedroom laughing and having fun trying to get me into the dress for the first time – and
miraculously IT FIT! Like, completely fit – perfectly. Kawthar had a big open living room space with a giant floor to ceiling
mirror. It was like a private bridal fitting with my best friend during Covid-19 one week away from my wedding – the PERFECT
EXPERIENCE!

“Katrina and I were at Kawthar’s home for at least 2 hours… she made us wonderful coffee and gave us beautiful
sweets in celebration of Ramadan. Katrina and I now hopped up on coffee and sugar, went back to her house where SHE tried
the dress on and paraded around – we danced, laughed and twirled and both agreed that the dress was simply MAGICAL.

“Wedding planning was certainly stressful. I’m almost glad we didn’t start planning a year out – being stressed like
this for a solid year! But in the end it all came together. Covid-19 did pose some challenges, but honestly it made for a
unique story and it molded our wedding experience into an intimate whirlwind that we will never forget. We wouldn’t have
changed a thing.”

Vendors–

Officiant: Katrina Burns
Ceremony: Stan Hywet Hall
Reception: parents home
Florist: Kelly Floral Design
Wedding bands: Stonebrook Jewelry, Utah 
Dress: Kawthar
Tuxedo: Jim’s Formal Wear
Hair: Trisha
Makeup: Trisha
Assistant: Parker Shaw

Thank you for viewing this Stan Hywet Microwedding.

– Scott Shaw Photo | Cleveland Wedding Photographer