Couple goes from code orange to code red, plans wedding in 26 hours

A couple tired of changing plans due to the pandemic says they made the "craziest decision" they have ever made and planned a wedding in one afternoon.

Kerstin Green (née Holmberg) and her husband Josh married on Saturday, 26 hours after hearing the news of Winnipeg's impending restriction tightening. Wanting to be tied together in matrimony with their friends and family present, the couple got to work.

"We were very excited to get married and could not wait. We could not be happier that we were actually able to," Kerstin says.

The couple first became engaged in December and planned to wed with their two children and family present on June 6. Pushing it back to October 10, the pair prepared for a smaller fall wedding with thirty guests.

After learning Monday was bringing more restrictions, on Friday afternoon the couple raced to the aisle and moved their entire wedding to the next day.

"After talking with my now-husband, we made the craziest decision we have ever made and decided that we were going to try to pull together a wedding in one afternoon. Before we knew it, it took 26 hours from the time we started planning to the time our ceremony started."

Contacting the venue for availability, the florist to create arrangements, a hairdresser, limo company, and many, many other services needed to make their special day feel normal, Kerstin says the wedding went surprisingly perfectly.

"My mother-in-law made us a cake, a three-tier wedding cake from scratch Friday night."

When driving up to the venue, Kerstin says the gravity of the situation hit her.

"When I was pulling up to our ceremony in a limo, that is when it finally hit me that we were actually able to pull off a wedding in 26 hours."

Twenty-nine of the original thirty guests were in attendance, enjoying the Green's wedding.

Kevin, the couple's four-year-old son, says he had fun on the day of.

"I watched mom and dad," Kevin says about the wedding ceremony. "I had one piece (of cake)."

His mom says Kevin brought the couple their wedding rings during the ceremony.

As Kerstin spoke from home with Kevin beside her, she says the newlyweds have no honeymoon plans.

"We have two kids and with everything being so last minute we were not able to go anywhere," Kerstin says. She says they hope to plan something for the future.

Reflecting on the day, Kerstin is grateful to have had the support of her community, making her wedding unforgettable.

"It was just crazy how everyone came through to help us out to make this day happen for us."

She says the wedding would not have been possible without them.

"It feels amazing," she says. "It was the dream wedding. It was everything I hoped for and more. I just could not be more thankful."

Kerstin says the couple is trying to enjoy every minute of being married.

"We have learned life is too short to take anything for granted so we are happy that we are married and that we can say we are in this for a lifetime now."