Selden Humphreys & Erin Sarinoglu

September 26, 2020

Planning a wedding during COVID proved to be challenging to say the least.

Erim and I first met back in high school during our
senior trip to the Bahamas. We definitely noticed
each other, but mostly from afar. We each knew that
we were both heading to Washington, DC for
college, but ended up only running into each other
once during our time there. Fast forward a few
years later, we were both back in Memphis. We
reconnected on Bumble, went on a date and were
inseparable ever since!

It all came full circle during a trip to London in
January 2020 when Erim popped the question on the
London Eye, the giant Ferris wheel that overlooks
the breathtaking city. We immediately got to work
planning a beautiful, 500 people reception for
September. Then, the news of COVID soon hit and
we were thrown for a loop. We hoped the situation
would be short-lived, but despite our best attempts
to uninvite the pandemic from the wedding, she
persisted. Even with COVID, Erim and I knew we
wanted to proceed with the date. We were ready
to start the next chapter in our lives together and
didn’t want something out of our control ruining
this moment for us. Consequently, like most couples
planning a wedding during this time – we sprang
into action to navigate this ever-evolving situation to
keep our friends and family safe. We cut the guestlist
by 80%, moved the entire event to my parents’
home to keep everything outside, administered
temperature checks, handed out masks to our guests
and did everything else in our power to make sure
our guests felt safe.

COVID certainly forced us to get creative, and in
the process, we managed to turn a less than hopeful
situation like this into such a memorable and
intimate wedding! While it was heartbreaking not
to have everyone we wanted there, we remained
positive and focused on the thing that meant most
– our marriage. We were still surrounded by our
closest friends and family, which truly made our
wedding so special. While the day wasn’t like we
originally planned, it was absolutely perfect.
-Selden