Little White Chapel Popup weddings being held September 11-13

AUSTIN, Texas - A lot of people were forced to cancel wedding plans due to the coronavirus pandemic but couples in the Austin-area who still want to go ahead with getting hitched can have a unique pop-up wedding.

Contigo Catering and Bird Dog Wedding are holding Little White Chapel Popup weddings at Mercury Hall September 11-13.

It’s a big change from what local event planning company Bird Dog Wedding, founded by Emily Leach, is used to doing but as with most businesses and industries, the COVID-19 pandemic has required some adjustment.

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“Once the pandemic started there was this little blurb that kept going around and it said love wasn’t canceled and that really is what this boils down to, this event and what we do day in and day out,” Rheingold says.

Bird Dog Wedding’s Lead Planner and Logistics Manager Monica Rheingold says they pivoted to smaller, intimate events knowing that they still wanted to help couples and still make it beautiful and meaningful.

Rheingold says they think about “the big picture as well as the tiniest details” to create an atmosphere and that it’s been really great to see couples still say their “I dos”.

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“We like to include unique and fun elements to each of our weddings and make it really make it special for each couple,” says Rheingold.

So what do couples get from the Little White Chapel Popup?

For the first edition in July, the theme was Vegas-style and Rheingold says it was fully embraced by participants and this time around the theme will be Cosmic Cowboy.

Rheingold describes the theme this time as a “little bit Willie, a little bit Dolly, a little bit Kacey Musgraves, 70’s inspired glitter forward.”

And couples will get everything they’d get at any wedding but Rheingold says it’s much more budget friendly.

“You still get this really fun, highly stylized wedding with amazing vendors, food, and drinks and your guests can be there and you’re paying a tiny fraction of the cost.”

A limited number of guests are permitted to attend the ceremony and Rheingold says all government COVID-19 safety guidelines are followed and thorough cleaning is done.

Couples get copies of photos from the ceremony courtesy of Cory Ryan Photography and they get a welcome cocktail and cake and cake cutting from Contigo Catering.

Good Day Cooks: Contigo Catering

Contigo Catering is a catering company that pivoted in the midst of the pandemic. They’re now serving quality food to-go. You can check them out at contigocatering.com.

Hereafter Films is offering a livestream so friends and family who can’t attend can join and see everything and help celebrate.

There’s still music to walk down the aisle to and have a first dance to courtesy of Dart Collective and local florist Remi + Gold creates a dry bouquet for couples to take home with them.

Some unique offerings include live sketch artist Vogue Vignette who will sketch the couple and mobile honky tonk bar Hello Trouble Hall.

The full list of vendors can be found here.

Rheingold says another big draw for the popup is the venue, Mercury Hall. It’s a coveted spot for people to hold weddings and events and it’s set to close June 2021.

“It makes things really easy,” Rheingold says. “Everything’s there for you. You literally think about your vows, you think about our ceremony…but other than that you literally just show up. So it takes a lot of the stress and anxiety out of planning.”

Rheingold admits the changes due to the pandemic have been an adjustment for the company but ultimately they’ve found that “people just really love each other and they want to make things official…in the face of adversity they are still ready to say I do and get married.”

“It’s special,” Rheingold says.