May 9th was their original wedding date. Because of COVID-19, they were forced to reschedule so they sent out mailings for everyone to save their new date. Early last week, they were notified by their venue that they were going to be forced to cancel the second, rescheduled date. Now anyone who has planned a wedding in regular circumstances may remember how stressful that was. Imagine planning a wedding in the midst of the ever-shifting unknowns of a worldwide pandemic. When Olivia and Malachi were notified about the cancellation and thus having to reschedule to a third date and a new venue, they decided to go back to the beginning and get married on their original wedding date, May 9, 2020.

With the help of Brenda (Town or Country Event Design) and some other wonderful helpers behind the scenes, they were able to pull off a stunning spring wedding on the outdoor lawn at the very place they met and later got engaged, the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. They were in the same class (and just graduated last week!) and were randomly assigned to be partners. Being paired up meant they were each other’s first patient. Malachi says “the rest is history”, but I doubt it’s as easy as doing a dental cleaning and then falling in love. They started dating the summer following that first year of dental school and Malachi proposed last May.

“It was literally the most perfect, planned out day. I had no idea,” Olivia said. “A year ago, the College did a story on Malachi and he told me they were doing a follow up story. The school even emailed me asking to be his mock patient for the interview as a photographer would be there. They added that we could pick any unit, and so we, of course, picked the unit 10 where we first met. We met the photographer, had the unit all set up, and then after a few staged pictures, he sat me up in the chair and was holding the most beautiful engagement ring, telling me, ‘You know how I told that the first person I say “I love you” to, I am going to marry?’ And (that is when I knew) he looked at me and said, ‘Liv, I love you. Will you marry me?’”

Malachi had been planning the proposal for 4 months. No one knew and he designed the ring himself and wanted it to be a complete surprise. “I just kept telling her we would wait until May of our 4th year.” (Which is now when they actually got getting married!) Olivia laughed, “Honestly, I couldn’t pay Malachi any amount of money to use a planner, or even follow a weekly schedule, but he outdid himself planning the engagement.”

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, they had to scale back their guest list. They ended up with less than 10 people in attendance and kept it a complete surprise from the rest of their family and friends. They actually announced it later that night using a few of these photos, like, hey, you’ll never guess what we did today!

Being part of such an intimate wedding was, in short, magical. I love that my job is to preserve the moments for generations to come, but it’s an added level of magic when my job isn’t just to preserve memories, but to provide a way for the many, many friends and family who weren’t there to experience it with them.

Malachi surprised Olivia with a stunning necklace and, guys, this is how you know you’ve done good.

Their joy was so contagious and I was on cloud 9 with them, just celebrating every moment!

Their adorable pups, Henry and Wendy, joined them for the wedding and it was nothing short of perfect.

Photography: Emily Crall Photography

Event Coordination: Town or Country Event Design & Coordination

Florals: Wilson Ave Hyvee

Paper Suite: Allegra Iowa City

Bridal Gown: Bridal Boutique

Jewelry: Eckerman Jewelry

Venue: University of Iowa College of Dentistry