4th Time's A Charm: An Unforgettable Wedding Amidst A Pandemic

Wedding Date: September 10, 2020

Picture it: A warm July evening in 2018. Three young women dining at Smack Shack in Minneapolis, bemoaning the state of dating. “It wasn’t five minutes later that a handsome guy with kind eyes and a quick smile seemed to drop out of Heaven itself and land gracefully next to our table,” recalls Emily Coborn’s cousin Carolyn, one of the three. That guy was Tobin Wright, who recognized Emily from gatherings with mutual friends, visiting from Seattle that evening for work. Sparks flew. After a romantic sunset proposal in the Canary Islands, wedding plans got underway—then changed four times when the pandemic closed the Canadian border, preventing Tobin’s family and friends from attending. Finally, the couple made the decision to marry at Emily’s family’s cabin, with 40 guests in person and another 150 attending via Zoom. But family was still very much a part of their day: Emily’s cousin performed the ceremony, her brother played the processional, and framed photos of family members who couldn’t attend hung on a tree near the ceremony site. Tobin’s Canadian heritage was also represented, with a late-night poutine snack bar, and even in his boutonniere, which featured a small Canadian maple leaf.