Despite the pandemic, Gowans find a way to tie the knot

Berwick residents Hannah Henry Gowan and her husband Micah Gowan have a story to tell their children and grandchildren one day.
The Gowans originally were supposed to be married April 4 in a large wedding ceremony in Albany with an anticipated guest list of more than 300 people.
Then COVID-19 and accompanying mandates hit Louisiana, and things changed.
While the Gowans were upset about the postponement of their big day, they decided, after considering the circumstances, to go ahead with a wedding a week earlier on March 28 at Word of Life Family Church in Patterson.
Instead of a large gathering, however, the ceremony was limited to just immediate family. Hannah said some of her grandparents couldn’t come, either, due to health issues and having to travel.
While things were different, the Gowans made the best of the situation.
“The ceremony was beautiful,” Hannah said. “It was perfect.”
Hannah said she thought her dad took it harder because they had discussed him walking her down the aisle and her having her big day.
However, they still walked down the aisle — made by Micah’s mom, Brandy Gowan, and Hannah’s mother, Tori Henry — and she had her big day, although on a much smaller scale.
“We just found the joy in our situation, and we said ‘you know what, it is what it is, and we’re just going to do what we can,’” Hannah said.
While the wedding day is a special one, Hannah said the union is about more than that.
“Your wedding day is one day, and your marriage is forever,” she said.
Hannah said she and Micah plan to hold a bigger ceremony at a later date at their original venue once the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
Years from now, though, they will have one heck of a story for their children and grandchildren.
“I can’t wait to tell them,” she laughed.