Shannon and Chris' Wedding
We are very happy to announce the wedding of Chris Pugh & Shannon Frey on
September 11, 2020
When : Sept 11th, 2020 8 PM EDT
Where : Zoom and Facebook Live.
Check back here for more information.
The ceremony will be held in our back yard, with a secret garden theme, amongst the beginnings of our dream garden.
We are going to have a very small number of our closest family and friends physically present (invites still pending). Everyone but the wedding party (us plus two people) will be wearing a mask and practicing strict social distancing. We wish we could have all of our loved ones present and give them hugs, but keeping everyone safe is more important right now. We will be entertaining (local-only) well-wishers in person as well as digitally, via scheduled visits. More info on that to come.
Pandemic & Weather Disclaimer
If it's necessary for safety (pandemic or hurricane conditions), we will cancel the in-person ceremony and visits entirely. We may have just the wedding party or just the two of us with the wedding party streaming in remotely if we feel it's necessary for safety.
If it storms, we may have just the wedding party on the porch with all in-person guests watching remotely from their cars. If it rains but doesn't storm, we will proceed, and in-person guests will be provided with clear umbrellas (to not interfere with pictures). You can join us on video streaming no matter what happens.
Why did we pick this date?
Despite the pandemic interrupting what our plans otherwise would have been, we realized that this was also an opportunity. We were never super excited about a big traditional wedding. We know that a lot of people who did are delaying theirs and we realized that since we were excited to be married, we could let those people have their moment next year while having the more intimate wedding that would make us happy.
September 11th is also Shannon's 34th birthday. That day has been hard for a lot of people, including Shannon. But her mom would always tell her that it was the best day of her life since that's when she was born. Shannon has also loves using her birthday to celebrate and bring joy to her loved ones, since she has a very close friend and a sister with birthdays the day before and the day after, respectively. So picking this date lets us add one more good thing to the date. The same logic applies to 2020 as a year. We can point to this date and say something good happened.
Gifts and Donations
In lieu of gifts, the couple asks for people to make a contribution to one of the organizations below. During these times, we have been very lucky. We’ve had a strong support network of family and friends, and we’ve been fortunate to have a stable income. We need and want little beyond this. We’ve been working together, and have donated as much as we are able, as philanthropy is a value we strongly share and bonded over. So donating to one of these groups would honor us and legitimately be a gift to us as we want to encourage others to have the same giving spirit that has enriched our lives so much.
So if you were considering giving us a gift, we ask that you consider what you were willing to spend on us, and instead direct that to one or more of the charities below. To our loved ones who are having more difficulty right now, we want you to take care of yourselves first. If you are able, even a gift of $5 can provide 20 meals through Second Harvest. If you aren’t able to do that, we would be so grateful if you can just share one of the organizations below on your social media for visibility.
Organizations:
-
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)
An award winning worker rights organization internationally recognized for its achievements in fighting human trafficking and gender-based violence at work. Their anti-slavery campaign in the southern US has liberated over 1200 agricultural workers held against their will since the early 90s. Your donation is directed to their fair food program, a partnership among farmworkers, Florida tomato growers, and participating retail buyers. This program ensures humane wages and working conditions for the workers who pick fruits and vegetables on participating farms.
-
One Fair Wage Emergency Fund
This organization supplies direct cash relief to restaurant workers, gig workers (which has been a major source of income for Shannon for many years), and other hourly workers facing hardship from the pandemic.
-
Second Harvest of Central Florida
This organization runs food bank operations local to our area and has programs specific to children and disaster relief. They are also delivering meals directly to homes during the pandemic.