As is the case with most things in 2020—travel plans, up-close-and-personal relationships, our waistlines—the wedding industry has taken a hit.
With interstate travel and oversize gatherings deemed largely unsafe due to the still-raging coronavirus pandemic, most prospective brides and grooms realized they were too wedded to their original visions to attempt a pared-down version of their nuptials. And suddenly the race was on to lock in a suitable 2021 date.
Some found the thin silver lining, like former Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher, who recently told The Knot that tacking an extra 11 months onto her already four-year engagement with Jordan Rodgers meant they had time to fine-tune their plans for a destination wedding outside Santa Barbara, Calif.
"Before we made the decision to postpone, there were a few little things that we were still trying to figure out," she explained of the vineyard affair. "We want it to be like this sort of weekend celebration—different activities our guests could do leading up to the actual day of the wedding. We hadn't pinpointed exactly what we wanted that to look like."
But mostly, like everything else COVID-related, having to delay what was likely to be one of the best days of their lives was a huge bummer for Hollywood's betrothed set.
Among those affected was Sarah Hyland, who was set to wed Fletcher's onetime suitor Wells Adams this past August.
"We were supposed to get married today. Instead... we took pictures and drank wine," the Modern Family alum wrote of their impromptu all-white vineyard photo shoot, while her future spouse reasoned that "I still got to grab a butt. So, ya know, still pretttty cool."
So at least they're keeping a healthy dose of perspective and humor about things.
As for us, we've had scant few opportunities to engage in our favorite type of voyeurism: Dissecting every last decision future spouses agonize over en route to the altar, from the lust-worthy designer gowns to the Instagram-worthy Casa de Perrin tablescapes.
But a dream deferred is not a dream denied and we're pretty sure what legendary poet Langston Hughes was going on about was that all of this matrimonial reshuffling means we're set for a whole slate of star-studded nuptials starting next spring. And with Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani and all of our fave Bachelor Nation pairs deep in planning mode, we're over here fantasizing about floral walls, bistro lighting and seemingly endless trains.
Here are just a few of the celeb vows we'd love to score an invite to...
This story was originally published on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020 at 12 a.m. PT.