Loved ones surprise Manitoba newlyweds with cheers outside church after socially distant ceremony

Sun shining downthroughclear blue Prairie skies, 8 C weather melting away signs of winter Nathan and Diana Woltmannalmost couldn't have asked for better conditionsfor their spring wedding.

Unfortunately,coronavirus concerns meant a long guest list had to be pared down to only ahandful of close familydue to social distancing orders and travel restrictions.

Diana, whosefamily was forced to stay home inVictoria, B.C., didn't get to walkthe aisle locked arm-in-arm with one of her parents.The big reception, outright cancelled.

But the couple was determined not to let a global pandemic stop them from tying the knot Saturday.

And COVID-19didn't stopfriends and family from surprisingthem outside the church Saturday afternoon with a chorus of cheers and car-horn honking all at a comfortable distance from the newlyweds.

"Very caught off guard by the whole thing," Nathan said after seeing the socially distanced gathering.

"We're so thankful for our friends and family and for God, who brought us together to this day," Diana added.

Changing expectations

Norm and Jan Woltmann, parents of the groom, were among a small group of people permitted to be inside Gateway Church in South Osborne for the ceremony.

"Everything that has happened, everything that's going onthe fear that grips everything in these timesit's all covered by their love for each other," said Nathan's father, Norm Woltmann, ahead of the wedding.

"It's such a great day to share with them that joy in this time."

'Totally surprised': Friends and family cheer for newlyweds at a comfortable distance

5 years ago

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Friends and family celebrated the Woltmann's nuptials Saturday without ever stepping foot inside the church.

Manitoba has seen a gradual escalation in closures, cancellations andrestrictions since the first COVID-19 cases emerged in the province just over two weeks ago.

• COVID-19: Latest on closures and more in Manitoba

Jan said her son and daughter-in-lawcould see the writing on the wall. The novel coronavirus was spreading, and the restrictions were ramping up.

The couplebegan emailing their guests.

The big party planned for afterward at the Fort Garry Hotel was among the first things to get nixed on March 14.

Then came the provincial limits against gatherings of 50 or more, whichled to another recent email: only a fewwould be let inside the church. The formal ceremony was cancelled.

Come Monday, gatherings of 10 or more won't be allowed in Manitoba.

Hatching a plan

The cancellations lefta big wedding-sized hole in the schedules of the locals on the list of about 180 who RSVP'd.The bridesmaids hatched a plan that would let some of those people still show up for the couple, in a sense.

"You just really want to celebrate them in this time where everybody is so fearful and we don't know what our future holds," said Anita Roulston, Nathan's aunt.

Quietly, behind Nathan and Diana's backs, people organized. They decorated their cars, made colourful posters and set out a route from the church on Rathgarto the endpoint where everyone knew the newlyweds would be heading afterward.

Shortly before 4 p.m., the married couple emerged to bursts of clapping and shoutingfrom family and friends. They had no idea.

"They so deserve it," said Roulston. "We could all use a little cheering up in Winnipeg right now."

'Nothing takes away from that'

The newlyweds are people of faith, said Jan, and this wedding was meant to be a traditionalexpression of that. Circumstances made for something a little less conventional but not less special, she said.

Her gentle son and brightdaughter-in-law have been through a lot to get here, said Jan.

"It's the idea that we can celebrate these kids today, no matter what," she said."The joy and the truth of them becoming man and wife today, nothing takes away from that."

It wasn't what they imagined, but Diana and Nathan Woltmann are counting their ceremony as "a bigwin."

"We just love each other and we're just excited to start our future together, which starts today," Diana said.