- Brooklyn-based couple Paula Fastuca and Ken Caccavale were supposed to have an almost 200-guest wedding in mid-March, but they had to postpone it because of the coronavirus.
- The couple decided to have a small wedding ceremony on the roof of their apartment building with their immediate family on the day they were supposed to get married.
- The couple’s family set up a makeshift altar for them on the roof, and their neighbors cheered them on from other roofs and fire escapes while they said their vows.
- “The love we have for each other was still there no matter what was happening around us, ” Fastuca told Insider.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Paula Fastuca and Ken Caccavale met online six years ago.
The retail manager and stock trader met on OKCupid in 2014.
They went on their first date in the Brooklyn neighborhood they still live in today, and they’ve been together ever since.
Caccavale proposed to Fastuca on February 7, 2019.
“Ken surprised me,” Fastuca told Insider. “We both like to snowboard, so we were out in Utah for three days and then we flew over to Colorado.”
The couple had looked at rings at Ring Concierge, but Fastuca didn’t know Caccavale had actually purchased one.
"On the top of the mountain, he proposed to me," she said.
The couple planned to have a 185-guest wedding at Brooklyn's Box House Hotel in March 2020.
But by mid-March, the couple realized their wedding likely wouldn't happen because of the coronavirus.
The virus was quickly spreading in New York, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo had yet to issue a stay-at-home order.
"At that point, everything was up in the air," Fastuca said. "Having that uncertainty was really the hardest part."
"We decided to call everyone on our list," she told Insider, with the couple calling everyone they invited to see if they still planned on coming to the event.
"As we got through the list, we realized we weren't going to be able to have the wedding that we wanted to have and make everyone feel comfortable."
They officially postponed on March 14, a week before their wedding was set to occur.
The couple rescheduled their wedding for January 2021, but they still wanted to get married on March 21.
Caccavale had the idea to hold a smaller wedding with just the couple's immediate family who lived nearby.
"He really, really wanted to honor our day," Fastuca said of her now-husband. "He wanted to make it happen. He was all about it, whatever we could do to make it work."
After talking it over, they decided to have a ceremony on the roof of their apartment building.
The couple did all they could to make the day feel special.
They only had a week to put together the at-home wedding.
Fastuca made a lot of the decorations, like the mirror, that the couple planned on using at the reception, so she was able to set them up in their apartment to make it look festive.
Fastuca made the dried floral decorations herself, as well as the boutonniere Caccavale wore.
"I always imagined my mom getting ready with me," Fastuca said.
She used her bedroom as a makeshift bridal suite, allowing her to get ready with her mother as she had hoped.
"I still got that moment," she said. She decorated the chair for the day to make the photos more bridal as well.
Fastuca also did her hair and makeup by herself.
Fastuca also incorporated something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue into the day, keeping with tradition.
She wore her mother's veil and gloves as her something old, while her Grace Loves Lace dress was new.
Caccavale's tuxedo was from The Black Tux.
Fastuca's earrings were borrowed from Caccavale's mother, and she pinned a blue flower to her headpiece.
The bride also shared a first look with her father in the apartment.
Having traditional wedding moments despite the circumstances was important to the couple.
"All of our family was willing to do anything for us," she said.
They also set up tables in their living room with photos from their parents' and grandparents' wedding days.
"Family is super important to both of us," Fastuca said, which made the celebration difficult because so many members of their family couldn't be there.
Caccavale's grandparents and sister couldn't be there, nor could Fastuca's brothers and her soon-to-be sister-in-law, who was supposed to be her maid of honor.
"I think when I look back on it, the hardest part was having to call my brother and call his sister and tell them not to fly," she said.
But honoring their grandparents through photos and having their parents and Caccavale's brother with them made all the difference.
The couple's family set up the roof for them while they got ready.
"When our parents first arrived, they were the ones who set up," Fastuca said.
An old rug marked the spot they would get married, and lanterns that were intended to be used at the big celebration made the space look romantic.
"Ken's mom and dad brought rose petals, which I didn't know about. It was a really nice surprise," she added.
The couple's photographer, Yumi Matsuo, was also there to document the event.
Fastuca's father walked her down a makeshift aisle.
The roof is accessible from the floor the couple lives on, which made it easier for them to set up, though there was still a small set of stairs to climb.
"My dad held my train for me," Fastuca said of walking up the stairs. "It was really important that he walked me down the aisle."
The couple's favorite moment of the day was when Caccavale saw Fastuca in her wedding dress.
"We originally planned to do a first look, and Ken still had that set in his mind," Fastuca said.
But because of the setup, it made more sense for the couple to just do the look during the ceremony.
"The second he turned around, he lost it and just started crying," Fastuca said of her husband's reaction to seeing her.
"I think it was even more special that way because our family got to see it," Fastuca said of the first look.
"The look on Ken's face is my favorite memory ever."
The couple found their officiant online.
Caccavale's uncle was supposed to marry the couple, but he lives in Minnesota, so they didn't want him to travel.
They found an officiant who was willing to come to their apartment less than a week before the wedding. "He was really, really nervous to come, but he was willing to do it," Fastuca said.
The couple decided to still read the vows Caccavale's uncle had written for them, but their officiant added his own touch as well.
"He said such beautiful words," Fastuca said of the officiant. "We're so lucky we found him."
Although the couple only had five official attendees, their neighbors also supported them as they got married.
"There were a couple of people cheering from other rooftops and people watching from their fire escapes," Fastuca said.
They clapped as the couple said 'I do.'
The family popped champagne after the event to the delight of the onlookers.
"It was a totally different experience than you'd ever expect," Fastuca told Insider.
"You get so caught up in what's going on between the two of you, but then to think about everyone else in the world and everyone looking at us and what joy it brought to people on that day was really amazing."
"My perspective has changed so much," Fastuca said of the experience.
"With the huge wedding that we planned, we fussed over what food we were going to eat or what the decorations were going to look like."
"That's all fun but when it comes down to it, it's more about the love you have for each other," she said.
"Quarantine at its best exposed everyone to the beauty of what really matters," Matsuo said of the couple's nuptials. "It's something that often gets lost in typical wedding celebrations."
"I think with everything going on, you can't let yourself get lost in it, or lose track of your love or your family," she said.
"It's so easy to get distracted and to forget about those things or put them on hold."
"It just makes it more special that you hold onto the things that you value," she added.
Fastuca also told Insider the experience brought the couple closer to their loved ones.
"Going through this experience has brought out the best in our family and our friends," she said.
"People have been so supportive through all of this, and it really shows everyone's true colors. It shows you what is important in life and what you really value."
"Everyone has been so positive toward us, and it's been such an amazing feeling to share our story," Fastuca added.
"We've been through a lot together," Fastuca said of her and her husband.
"Our communication is amazing, and we really listen to each other's feelings and we consider each other always."
"We understand each other and are able to gauge how the other one is feeling and kind of come to agreements on things," she said.
"We didn't even fight," she said of their reaction to finding out the wedding had to be postponed. "We cried together and we felt the same emotions. We're pretty in tune with each other, which is something I really value."
One of the reasons they work together is because they balance each other out.
"I can be pretty emotional and dramatic, and he is very realistic," Fastuca said of her husband. "He's always planning and can kind of get everything together."
"He really helps and guides everything. I love that he thinks ahead and that he plans."
"None of our feelings changed for each other, and that's really what we had to hold onto," Fastuca said of the experience's impact on her and Caccavale as a couple.
"It was definitely hard, and we were planning for a big party all year."
"I imagined it so differently, but it ended up working out so great in our apartment," she said.
"The love we have for each other was still there no matter what was happening around us."
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