Subscribe
Hellobeautiful Featured Video
CLOSE

It’s no secret that thanks to the coronavirus crisis and the country-wide shutdowns and restrictions of large gatherings, that brides here in the U.S. have had to either postpone their nuptials indefinitely or try to find a different way to say, “I do,” safely.

Enter: former Teen Vogue EIC Elaine Welteroth, whose social distancing stoop wedding, took every precaution without sacrificing the glam.

According to Vogue, who did an amazing photo gallery of Welteroth and her musician hubby Jonathan Singletary, had been engaged since 2016 and were planning on getting married at a friend’s estate in Northern California, near where they met when they were both 12-years-old.

After reconnected in New York in 2013, the two started dating and are now husband and wife!

 

Now, they didn’t let COVID-19 stop them from getting married on the date they had planned—5/10/2020—because for the Project Runway judge and best-selling author, this date was too important to her. Vogue wrote:

But as the reality set in, both of us realized that we actually felt more ‘married’ to our date and to each other than we did to our big, exciting plans,” Elaine says. “There was so much meaning wrapped up into the date we picked. Plus, we had a long engagement—3.5 years!—so the idea of waiting any longer felt painful. More painful than losing out on celebrating our wedding the way we had initially envisioned. I kept seeing messages online that read, ‘Love Cannot Be Canceled,’ and it really resonated,” Elaine says.

“So I woke up one day and walked into Jonathan’s home studio and said, ‘I am marrying you on 5-10-20. It may have to be right here on our stoop. And I might be in sweats. But we are still doing this, come hell or high water.’”   Figuring out the “how” became an exciting challenge. “I think what we learned in our process of pivoting is that the key is to get clear on your ‘why’ and what exactly is most important for your wedding,” Elaine explains. “For us, the priority became saving our date. From there, we could move forward to sort out the how.”

Priority it was! Soon after, she came up with the idea of a #LoveLockDown theme block party.

“I woke up one morning with this whole vision of how we could do it,” Welteroth explained.

“In my mind, I saw the faces of people we love from afar surrounding us on iPhone screens and a small group of our local friends in white lining the sidewalk with gloves and masks on. I envisioned transforming our stoop into an altar glowing with pretty lighting and gorgeous florals. I had no idea if any of this was even possible in the middle of a pandemic, but I was excited about having a new wedding vision to work towards.”

 

Now, let’s deconstruct her outfit: her white “label-less” wedding dress was her something old (given that it been sitting in her closet for a minute and she hadn’t worn in three years) and her white pearl shoes were made by Aurora James, the shoe designer whose python boots were front in center in Queen & Slim. Also, Elaine braided her hair thanks to a tutorial from celebrity hairstylist and good friend Vernon François (who was gonna do her hair for the big day). To finish off her stunning lewk, she did her own makeup, in the backseat of her car.

Let’s also talk about the flowers. Vogue reported that “Lewis Miller Design installed a whimsical floral arch” for her stoop, which is just hands-down fantastic, and quite beautiful.

In terms of social distancing, she asked folks that were coming in-person to wear masks and stay 6-feet-apart from her, that and her neighbors came out to wish them well, on their own stoops. She also Zoomed in 200 guests so they could virtually witness the loving couple’s nuptials for themselves on their computers or cell phones.

As the Root noted, “each guest was furnished with a white parasol, mask and gloves, bubbles, flower seeds, mini tambourines and brownies made from a family recipe—and each was paired with a “FaceTime buddy” they were responsible for during the ceremony.”

 

In the end, Elaine said that her special day was just “magical.”

“The way we planned—this time with all the love and energy of our whole community cheering us on. It was nothing short of magical.”

Congrats to Elaine and Jonathan!

Read the Vogue article in its entirety here

RELATED NEWS:

Kandi Rocks A Red Mini Dress For Her Face Mask Themed Birthday Party

Kelly Rowland Posting Quarantine Thirst Traps Is The Best Thing Ever!

Quarantine Haircuts: Fantasia and Her Son’s Matching Fades Are The Cutest!

Quarantine Fashion Battle: Jill Scott ‘Verzuz’ Erykah Badu
Quarantine Fashion Battle: Jill Scott 'Verzuz' Erykah Badu
12 photos

The grand return of the Melanin Awards amplifies and honors the finest Black-owned beauty brands with honest reviews, and discusses the evolution of beauty in Hip-Hop culture.