Manitoba couple marries at pop-up event as pandemic leads to scaled-down ceremonies

They said their vows, cut their cake and had their first dance. 

And Christina Miladinovic and her now-husband, Michael, did it all in an hour-and-a-half.

"It was perfect," Miladinovic said. 

They were one of the couples that signed on up for six mini weddings offered by Tiny Chapel Beginnings in St. Andrews on Saturday night. 

The venue announced the offer last month to help couples looking to save some money on their ceremony, or who had to cancel more lavish weddings because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To put the events together, Tiny Chapel Beginnings owner Susi Neault teamed up with wedding planner Courtney Parker, who had already helped plan four other pop-up weddings at Hawthorn Estates in East Selkirk in early July.

Parker, creator of Zairalyn Events, had already been successful with those events, so she approached Tiny Chapel Beginnings to organize more.

The package came with all the staples of a traditional wedding, like a live band, a cake and photography and videography to document the night.

"Then they clean up and the next couple comes in," Miladinovic told CBC's Weekend Morning Show host Nadia Kidwai over the phone on Saturday morning, from the Winnipeg hotel room where she and her new husband were spending their honeymoon less than 24 hours after tying the knot.

"It just was exactly, I guess like the best parts of a wedding."

Restrictions on gathering sizes during the pandemic threw a wrench in the couple's plans for a wedding with hundreds of people — and almost led them to cancel altogether.

"When we added all our guests up, it was like 200 guests. [We thought,] 'How do we do this, how do we manage this?'" she said.

"Plus, we were trying to buy our first home together, and so we decided maybe we should hold off. But then this came along."

Couples at the pop-up weddings were only allowed 25 guests, which meant making some tough decisions to cut down their planned guest list, she said. 

The bride and groom each ended up inviting 10 family members, plus both their parents. But even without friends there for the special day, Miladinovic said it was still a night she'll never forget.

"Everyone was so happy for us," she said. "Even with [just] our 25 guests there, it was just beautiful."