SOUTH DEERFIELD — George Miller and Gayle Ball’s socially distant, seven-person wedding wasn’t exactly the day they started planning a year ago. But that’s OK, they said.
“My friend who was the officiant, she told me, ‘What’s important is that you’re committed to each other,’” Ball said. “‘That’s what you’re celebrating. … You can always have a party later.’”
Ball and Miller got married Saturday afternoon at Miller’s family business, Magic Wings. They held a small ceremony in the conservatory, with just seven people present, including the bride and groom, and the officiant.
The couple, who first met in junior high in the early ’70s, started dating after reconnecting at a school reunion in 2013. Just over a year ago in April, the Bernardston couple got engaged at the Cliffs of Mohr in Ireland.
Over the last year, the couple planned a ceremony and celebration that would take place May 2 at Magic Wings, surrounded by 100 of their closest family and friends.
The COVID-19 pandemic, however, put a halt to those plans.
Miller said they considered rescheduling the wedding, but ultimately decided to go forward with it on much smaller scale.
“Like Gayle said, what’s important is the commitment and the love,” he said.
His sister, Kathy Fiore, wanted to do something more for the couple, so she organized a surprise drive-by parade after the intimate ceremony at the butterfly conservatory on Greenfield Road.
Family, friends and members of the community drove through the parking lot, some in vehicles adorned with signs wishing the best to the newly married couple. They honked and shouted words of congratulation.
“I thought it would be a nice way to recognize this day and let everyone celebrate with them,” Fiore said. “They waited so long to do this.”
Family members came from as far away as New York, she said. With the exception of some family in North Carolina, most of the family was able to participate in the wedding day drive-by parade.
“It was very exciting and emotional to see some people we didn’t expect to be able to show up,” Fiore said. “It was upsetting we couldn’t hug them, but we did it with our eyes.”
Ball said she managed to get through the ceremony on Saturday without crying, but lost it when she walked outside the conservatory and saw the parade of vehicles waiting to greet them.
“I had to shout, ‘Hey, you guys made me cry,’” she said.
Miller said the drive-by parade was a nice touch.
“It’s a big day,” he said. “It’s one we’ve looked forward to for quite a while.”
Miller said the day was bittersweet, in part because the ceremony wasn’t the party they had planned, but also because Miller’s parents were missed. His mother, he said, died two months ago.
“We know they’re watching down and feeling just as happy as we are,” he said.
The newly wedded couple plans to hold the originally planned celebration next year on May 1.
Speaking to other couples unsure of how to proceed with weddings planned during the pandemic, Miller said it just takes a little creativity and adaptability.
“You can still make it an amazing day,” Miller said. “It’s going to be a long way away from what you originally planned … but it can still be a day that you’ll never forget.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263. Twitter: @MaryEByrne