Welcome to another #columbiaheights #frontstepproject brought to you by MarKei Photo & Video. I began this initiative to facilitate connecting the humans in my city, to celebrate our diversity, and share our challenges during this pandemic and beyond. If you’re enjoying this series, please share. To support my photography, like & follow MarKei (on FB, IG, Twitter, &/or YouTube). To be notified of new posts, subscribe at markeiphoto.com. We are still offering socially distant photography in MN, so feel free to reach out!
Meet Annie and Kate! They have been a couple for 7 years this fall and engaged for 3 years. They met in Nebraska and moved to Minnesota in 2016 to be closer to family and friends. at first they lived in NE in an apartment but then bought their home in Columbia Heights in December 2018. Since their engagement, they've been slowly planning their wedding, not really stressing about it. They figured they had lots of time to plan. The biggest thing they were concerned about was what shoes they would wear. They planned to get married this year at the Hyland Hills Chalet. It is very secluded, has lots of parking, they'd have the whole property to themselves, and it would allow flexibility to use outdoor space. But with the COVID19 pandemic hindering large gatherings, the couple decided to get legally married now and then have their large party on 6/6/2021. Annie mentioned that she had always imagined their wedding being in their backyard but they went the traditional route instead. This way they kind of get to have it both ways!
I had the honor of shooting their FrontStepProject image on their wedding day, June 6, 2020. They had a small group of attendees. When I interviewed them before the wedding, they talked about all the effort they would be putting in to clean the house, have soap and disinfectant available.
I know I got you all excited and emotional about the wedding but I have more to share with you about Annie and Kate. Annie works for a non-profit that supports adults with special needs. She works at a residential site in an apartment complex where individuals have their own apartment and have access to support should they need it. Annie says that staff has been adapting to the pandemic by wearing masks, washing hands, and much more. She said it's very similar to how it was before but more anxiety. Kate works at a Scandinavian marketplace. The brick and mortar store is presently closed; however, their meat market deli is still open. The store is doing call-in orders and curbside pick-ups. Kate works on their website and has had switched to part-time hours for the time being. Kate also teaches classes on beginning knitting through the Minneapolis public school system and has done so for a couple of years. They're presently working on trying to make these classes available online.
When I asked how they're emotionally coping with the pandemic, Kate said she's gone through phases of being more isolated at home but having Zoom calls with her coworkers helps her feel more connected as well teaching virtual classes. They go out once a week for grocery shopping and have been staying busy doing projects around the house and gardening. Kate hasn't been too bothered since she's introverted anyways. However, for Annie, it's been a hard year dealing with other areas of grief in her life, having lost someone near to her just recently. She is disappointed that she couldn't go on her bachelorette trip to New Orleans in April but she's beginning to accept what is. She says that for the first month of COVID19, she was crying all that time. But she's passed that now and says, "we're really lucky to have the life we do." They're both still employed and have a lot of support from the people they love. They have great neighbors and live in a great neighborhood. Every Saturday they do "backyard circles" with their neighbors. One neighbor brings over homebrew in exchange for the homemade masks they've been making. Kate brought 10 masks to an employee who works at a restaurant and got hooked up with some food in exchange. Also, for May Day, they delivered gift basks to cheer folx up. Annie has felt more anxiety about coming home from work and possibly passing on something to Kate and getting her sick. One of the reasons they're getting married now is so that Kate can get on Annie's insurance. They've been doing their best to stay healthy, taking supplement to reinforce their immune systems. Annie has to take her and her clients' temperature at work 2x a day (more if running a fever), so she's developed a bit of anxiety around temperatures. For their relationship with each other, they say that this experience has strengthened it. They're grateful and happy to have each other, their home, and their two cats. They can't imagine going through this without all the living things in their home.
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#FRONTSTEPPROJECT: If YOU want to be featured, message me! It is free for Columbia Heights residents. Donations to SACA Food Shelf & Thrift Store are encouraged. Special priority for residents who are members of a disenfranchised community, essential workers (particularly healthcare) or local businesses. Please share this opportunity with your neighbor who may not be on social media.
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