Coronavirus cancelled their spring wedding, so they got married in Animal Crossing instead

It’s been a tough time for us all, but one game has come through in the coronavirus clutch with island getaway escapism and the freedom to mould a world exactly as you want it. 

Of course I’m talking about the very game every website like ours (and us too) are absolutely fawning over - Animal Crossing. Kind of weird, given the entire premise is remaining in perpetual debt to a financially astute raccoon. 

One side effect of COVID-19 that’s become evermore apparent to me in recent weeks is its power to ruin weddings across the world.

You see, I’ve hit that time in my late 20s when friends start to get hitched, leaving me to question life choices in the dating department. The group chats have recently changed from stag do plans and speech brainstorming, to sharing stories of awkwardly long conversations with wedding insurers and venues.

Cue Animal Crossing, saving the day for Janna and Andrew in the kind of wholesome story we all need right now. 

Rather than simply accept the postponement of their big day due to the virus, friends and family joined them for a virtual wedding on their island - all of which was a complete surprise to the bride-to-be. We find out more in an exclusive in-depth interview.

“We’re both essential workers (Janna works in food safety at a food manufacturing plant, Andrew is a receiving manager for a grocery store) so it is a nice escape and something to look forward to and the end of the day,” they said of how important Animal Crossing has become to their lives during this time.

“We still get to “hang out” with family and friends, as we have a lot of people in our social circle that play the game as well. We started a Discord server, and whenever someone buys the game, we invite them. We’re constantly chatting and helping each other build up our islands, so even though we haven’t seen them in person for weeks, we still “see” each other.”

So, how did the idea to get hitched in Animal Crossing come around?

“A couple weeks ago we had a "date night" in-game. We walked around the island looking at all the flowers and shops. Went through the exhibits in the museum reading the plaques and doing little reactions for the "rare" fish,” Andrew detailed.

Since then, they left their gates open in order to visit each other’s islands at any point and upon doing this, he had the idea to host a wedding on his island. Turns out, however, he wasn’t the only person in the family to think of this…

“Actually, Janna’s mom texted me and said “Natalie (Janna’s sister) said you could have a mock wedding on Animal Crossing, could you?” I responded that I was already working on it” the organisational challenge for Andrew began. 

The steps sound easy as you read them out, but it required some stealth the likes of which would make Solid Snake sweat a little. 

He had to invite friends and family onto the island without her realising - including his brother (who will be the best man for the actual big day) and his aunt, along with a couple of the friends they play with.

Following this came probably the sneakiest mission - getting a wedding dress onto her game without her seeing, hiding it in a place on the island he’s most hopeful won't be found. 

As for wedding guests, Natalie had the game up on her TV, so that Janna’s mum and other sister could watch the ceremony. It was a tremendous undertaking to say the least, and one that Andrew has a lot of advice from.

“Make sure your internet can handle it, and only send the Dodo code to a few people at a time to avoid a lot of lagging! Remember you only have 7 spots to invite, and try to plan around in game events, like KK being there on Saturdays.”

Oh, and if you’re thinking of how to make it look like you’re both sealing the marriage with a kiss, Animal Crossing doesn’t have that quite right, as Janna pointed out: “We tried to do the aggravation react at the same time to look like we were kissing but we never got it right.”

It’s been incredible to see the range of heartwarming stories coming out of Animal Crossing, and that is the beauty of this series. In any other game, you’d laugh out loud at the idea of Elijah Wood visiting your island for a good price on turnips like some root vegetable-based wolf of wall street. 

But yet, because of the game, it makes logical sense and we love every serendipitous story, from Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk dropping in to give people home interior design advice and surprise online birthday parties with friends and family in-game, to even trying to run daily business meetings within Animal Crossing (to limited success, as people were distracted by digging, fishing and shaking trees).

Is it perfect? Of course not. The option to craft and buy multiple things at the same time would be appreciated, not reading the same terrible pun after catching every fish or bug would be lovely, and the online mode limitations show Nintendo hasn’t quite cracked how to do a live service yet.

And the final question we had to ask, as is tradition for any wedding, what are the honeymoon plans?

“We plan on taking “wedding photos” to commemorate the day, and taking a week-long vacation to go on several mystery island tours. We might even hit it big and get a money island.”

Congratulations to Janna and Andrew, and to the many couples sharing their own special ceremonies on Animal Crossing groups across Facebook, Discord and Reddit. 

Having your own special occasion (Birthday, Wedding, Christening, etc), share the wholesome news with us, as the world needs to read your story right about now!