Cancellations, flesh-eating ulcers and a difficult dressmaker were just some of the curveballs 2020 threw at Rachelle Dempsey and her wedding plans.
But love conquered all in her December 5 wedding, she tells Luke Voogt, as business begins to boom again for Geelong celebrants.
Rachelle Dempsey had planned to marry in front of friends and family on December 5 ever since now-husband Ted Robinson proposed to her as they waited in a restaurant line.
“Ted said to me, ‘so, we are going to be married one day, right?’” the new Mount Duneed local remembered with amusement.
“I was like, ‘you can’t seriously be proposing to me while we’re waiting for a table’.”
But then COVID-19 hit in March, and guest restrictions turned out to be the least of Rachelle’s worries during a turbulent 2020.
The first obstacle came after she paid a dressmaker a deposit for her bridal dress.
“I couldn’t go for the fitting,” she said.
“The designer wasn’t super happy about refunding the deposit.”
They instead sent her a sample dress, which was the incorrect size, Rachelle said.
She tried to organise an alternative fitting date multiple times but the dressmaker refused, taking the deposit and leaving her the dress to sell, she said.
Then in September, 10 weeks out from the wedding, Rachelle was diagnosed with a Bairnsdale ulcer on her left thigh.
“I was kind of freaking out,” she said.
“If you go on the internet and search Bairnsdale ulcer, it doesn’t look pleasant.”
Initially a doctor thought the flesh-eating ulcer was a spider bite, but when treatment failed, her regular GP – a different doctor – sent off tests.
“Pathology actually lost the swab!” she said.
But eventually “amazing” infectious disease specialists made sure she got the treatment she needed.
Six weeks out from the wedding, in October, the venue she had booked called to cancel.
Finally, she had some luck when three weeks later Pearls and Roses Bridal in Newtown came to the rescue.
“The dressmaker – Karen – was awesome,” she said.
But about the same time her hairdresser and makeup artist told her they had double-booked her wedding date.
“So I had to find a different makeup artist and hairdresser within the next couple of days,” she said.
Just a fortnight out, on November 20, she underwent surgery on her leg and was off her feet for about a week.
“I had just one week where I could put things together,” she said.
Luckily, her husband secured Lorne Hotel, which was undergoing renovations at the time.
The owners adapted the venue for the couple’s reception mid-renovation, Rachelle explained.
“We were really lucky to have that because it’s not a function space,” she said.
“We’ll be the only couple to have a wedding there.”
Initially they had planned the ceremony in her sister’s backyard, but a forecast of thunderstorms and strong winds meant the couple had to revise that last minute too.
Celebrant and family availabilities limited their options to Geelong, but they managed to secure The Warehouse within two days.
“They were amazing – they were so good to deal with,” Rachelle said.
“When everything started to fall apart I was pretty anxious. But when it all finally started to come together, I thought maybe it was meant to happen this way.”
The venue change allowed them to have an extra five guests under COVID-19 restrictions, and a larger reception in Lorne.
“We had always hoped to have 40 or 50 at the reception, so it worked out perfectly,” Rachelle said.
“I thought it might be less but we never thought of cancelling it – we were going to forge ahead anyway.”
Most importantly to Rachelle, the couple were able to share their love with friends and family.
“If you’re worried about every minor detail you’re missing the point,” she said.
“It was always about us being together and sharing it with family – that was what kept us calm.”
While Rachelle was able to tie the knot in 2020, Geelong celebrants are being flooded with inquiries for 2021, according to the woman who married her.
“Next year is going to be huge. It’s looking crazy,” said Anita Jenkins, who is also part of Geelong Celebrant Collective.
“We’ve had a massive boom.
“We’ve got all the postponed weddings from this year and we’ve got those weddings that would have happened in 2021 anyway.
“Yesterday I went out, came home and looked at my phone – I had three inquiries in an hour.
“It’s so exciting because I love what I do with such a passion, it’s the best job in the world.”
The boom would be a welcome reprieve for the industry after a devastating 2020 – particularly for celebrants specialising in larger ceremonies, Anita said.
“One of the collective had a wedding in March and she’s only just had her next wedding last weekend – and she’s one of the best celebrants in Geelong.”
Anita and many other local celebrants performed smaller weddings during COVID-19, and she expects the trend to continue after the pandemic.
“I called them my iso weddings,” she said.
“They’re so beautiful because they’re just about the couple and not everybody else.
“Even going into next year a lot of us have got those smaller ceremonies booked. I think [COVID-19] has reset people’s thinking.”
