May 22, 2020 · By Archetype Themes Collaborator

Rolling with the punches - How we changed our anniversary celebration plans during COVID

We've been married 20 years this year. I still haven't wrapped my head around how this is possible, but here we are with a big reason to celebrate:)

Before the world quarantined, my husband and I were planning a fun trip for just the two of us. By late March it was clear that wouldn't happen any time soon, so we punted and decided to go with our boys to a dude ranch we love (the ranch is Tanque Verde and deserves it's own post, it's amazing) Then, last week, AZ infection rates started spiking up and we decided to cancel that trip as well ( read: I started waking up in a panic about the fact that if I can't keep the boys' hands clean here, how would I do it in the 'wild')

We were really disappointed, but we couldn't let our big accomplishment -20 YEARS!- pass with just take out at home! What could we do that would make this anniversary fun and memorable?

Well, is there a woman out there who isn't bummed that she only got to wear her wedding dress once? If so, I don't know her:) You work on that dress for months, you LOVE that dress. Then there 'she' sits in a vacuum-sealed box, and you can only see 'her' through a little viewing window - trés sad.

I'm the epitome of a multitasker, and love the 'two birds, one stone' concept, so combining 'Wear Wedding Dress' and 'Have Fun' seemed like a win, win, win win to me! (what about the 3rd 'win', you ask? I added champagne to the mix, duh;)

Derek and I dressed up in our wedding clothes, with a few modifications - my dress was tight and I for sure was not wearing heels - we had a champagne toast here and dinner with the boys delivered from our favorite French restaurant. Then we headed out on our bikes to deliver champagne to friends in our neighborhood. It was SO MUCH FUN!

We drank toasts at each house, said thank you to friends for being dear people and helping us celebrate, Derek and I got to hang out together without the boys for a bit, and we were home before dark - which is a real gift to someone who's old enough tho be married 20 years;))))

Honestly, it was one of my very favorite anniversaries and I highly recommend trying your own version if COVID is messing with your celebration plan!

If you try this, send me a picture - I would love to see it!

x-Dana

Ps: The ancillary awesome part of this whole thing was people walking and driving by - they smiled, and waved and wished us well. You could tell it brought them JOY, and couldn't we all use a little more of that right now??

Pss: Don't want to wear your wedding dress? Check out our options below for some other fun outfit ideas!