The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, February 27, 2021, WEEKEND EDITION, Page 33, Image 33

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    In a time when the
wedding industry is
turned on its head,
one thing is for certain
it is possible to design
a safe, memorable
wedding.
Debbie
Brown and
Al Procassini
wave to
friends
and family
watching a
livestream of
their wedding.
DiscoverOurCoast.com
“Growing up, it has always been a special place for
me,” Brown said. “It’s become a special place for Al too.”
When asked what to suggest other couples do to
prepare for a wedding during unprecedented times,
Debbie and Al didn’t hesitate: Think small and do your
research.
“We found that our venue, The Stephanie Inn,
had elopement packages. It was especially nice during
COVID-19 because they plan everything,” Brown said.
“This was perfect because we just wanted to get married
with our kids in attendance, so it was a small group and
we were able to pull it off.”
The Stephanie Inn provided an officiant, cake,
rooms and a champagne toast, Brown said.
“The coordinator was very helpful and made sure
we had everything so we didn’t have to worry,” she said.
The venue gave an outdoor or indoor option in
case the weather turned, Brown said. Lucky for the
newlyweds, the sun came out on their wedding day.
Because the guest list was short, many of the
couple’s friends tuned in via video to witness the union.
“We also had hand sanitizer on us and all of us
had separate guest rooms,” Procassini said. “We were
fortunate that there were places to eat outdoors as well.”
If a couple wants to have a big wedding, postponing
is a real and understandable option but the couple
wanted to have a small wedding to begin with.
Thinking DIY to limit contact with vendors also
helped secure the day.
“We also did a lot of things ourselves, like Debbie
did her own nails,” Procassini said.
Our Coast Weddings 2021 • 19