COVID-19 results in the wedding that wasn’t

BY Kelly Lopez

The weekend was to be spent in Maui, tying the knot and enjoying the celebrations that followed. A dream wedding at a dream destination.

COVID-19 postponed the dream. But, the couple celebrated this past week anyway.

Marissa Johnson and her fiancé Brett Charest celebrated their “mock wedding” last weekend right here in Canyon Lake.

Marissa and Brett had plans of a destination wedding in Hawaii for the weekend of June 20. Family and friends were going to join them in a celebration that would last for four days in Maui.

They had planned a series of Hawaiian events to celebrate their marriage. They had scheduled a guest-arriving beach party on Thursday, a rehearsal dinner luau on Friday, their wedding on Saturday and finally, a newlywed brunch on Sunday.

Marissa would not stand by and let COVID-19 ruin her wedding plans. The Hawaiian dream wedding is still going to happen, albeit in October, but Marissa was intent on partying on their original wedding date.

“My plan for those four days was to recreate these events in our own home and community,” Marissa said. And recreate she did. Marissa pulled off a fun and emotional mock wedding weekend for herself and Brett.

Marissa Johnson and Brett Charest pose after holding mock wedding events in Canyon Lake last weekend to temporarily replace wedding plans and events that should have taken place in Maui. COVID-19 undercut the couple’s Maui wedding plans, which have been rescheduled for October.

They started off their celebration by having an intimate beach party at their Canyon Lake waterfront home, which they moved into in December. They enjoyed cocktails in pineapples and hanging out on the beach.

The next day they had a “mock luau” hosted and put on 100% by Marissa. They did the hula and ate “Loco Moco,” a popular Hawaiian dish.

On Saturday, the couple had an intimate mock wedding ceremony at home. They exchanged vows while Pachelbel’s Canon in D Minor was playing in the background.

“The ceremony was a great excuse to get dressed up and go through the motions,” Marissa said. “But, I actually got pretty choked up.”

In the evening after their ceremony, Marissa and Brett went down to Holiday Harbor in their mock wedding clothes to have themselves photographed, just like if it was their real wedding. Finally, the couple treated themselves to dinner at The Lodge after many days of planning and prepping.

Marissa and Brett moved to Canyon Lake from Los Angeles. They fell in love with the community, Marissa said. “It feels like we’re on vacation every day,” Brett said.

Now the couple has the actual Maui wedding in Hawaii to look forward to. It should go on without a hitch now that the practice of saying vows and planning wedding events is under their belts.