Love in the time of COVID-19: Changed plans create sweet, simple wedding for Ozark County family ‘that deserves a happy ending’
Ozark County native Bailey Ray and Gravois Mills paramedic Jordy Ashley were married April 15 in Camdenton after their original wedding plans were turned upside down, first by government guidelines aimed at slowing the spread of the COVID-19 virus – and then when Jordy developed symptoms of the virus himself. They’re shown here with Bailey’s parents, Crystal and Dwain Ray of Wasola.
Family friends Clark and Wanda Brown hosted Bailey Ray and Jordy Ashley’s simple wedding under a gazebo at their Camdenton home, and Clark also officiated at the ceremony. Only the hosts, the couple’s parents and three friends were in attendance, following COVID-19 pandemic guidelines.
In a relatively short few months’ span of time, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world in more ways than could possibly have been imagined. Ordinary lives and routines have been altered to the point of being almost unrecognizable. The face of how we work, socialize, educate and worship has undergone such a transformation that we wonder if it will ever again look like it used to – and it may not. But one thing that this awful virus hasn’t been able to alter is the power of love. The kind of love that leads to happily ever after.
Bailey Ray grew up in Ozark County; her parents, Dwain and Crystal Ray (a fifth-grade teacher in Ava), and grandparents, Kenneth and Carma Frazier and Mark and Delores Ray, live here still. After graduating from Ava High School in 2016, Bailey attended Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar. During the summer after her sophomore year, she was working at a Christian camp near Lake of the Ozarks when she met Jordy Ashley, who was teaching the ropes course to young campers. Within two weeks of meeting, the pair began dating, and a year later, they officially became engaged on July 31, 2019. The fun of planning their dream wedding began!
Bailey and Jordy chose the Timberline Barn in Buffalo as the venue for their chosen date of April 6, 2020. Menus were chosen, dresses were purchased, entertainment was arranged, and the ceremony was planned. An apartment in Osage Beach was rented, and the deposits were paid, ready for the newlyweds to move in.
But in mid-March, the fallout from the spread of the coronavirus was being felt, and the couple knew they were going to have to change their plans.
“We realized about two weeks before the wedding that we needed to reschedule,” said Bailey, “so we worked with our venue to move our big celebration to June 8. But since we had already paid the rent on the apartment, we wanted to go ahead and get married. We decided on a small ceremony for April 4 for only 10 people, and then we would have our extended family and friends for the reception in June.”
Bailey and Jordy were happy with their new plans – until Wednesday, April 1, three days before their wedding. That morning, Jordy, who is a firefighter/EMT/first responder with the Gravois Fire Protection District, called to tell Bailey they would have to once again make changes to their wedding plans.
“He woke up with a fever of 101.5,” she recalled, “and he immediately put himself into self-quarantine. When he was tested for COVID-19, it was positive. Although he isn’t sure how he contracted the virus, it was likely a result of his job.”
The next few days were “rough,” according to Jordy, who experienced many of the symptoms associated with the virus, including a high fever, very bad cough, fatigue and nausea. But because he is a healthy young man, he did not suffer as badly as some victims of the virus. He was the only exposed member of his crew who contracted the virus.
In all, Bailey and Jordy were forced to stay apart for three weeks as Jordy followed all precautions recommended for isolation with exposure. He did not see Bailey until doctors completely cleared him to do so.
“Three weeks of being apart, all while changing our wedding plans – again! -- and him being so sick was hard. There were definitely some tears!” Bailey said in speaking of that trying time. “But I kept busy, moving into our apartment. And as soon as the quarantine time passed and he was given the green light, we didn’t want to wait any longer. We were ready to get married.”
So, on April 15, at the rural-Camdenton-area home of the couple’s friends, Clark and Wanda Brown, Bailey and Jordy were married in a lovely, simple ceremony, attended only by their hosts, Bailey’s parents and three of their friends, complying with the mandate of groups numbering no more than 10. The sun shone on them as they said their “I dos” in an outdoor gazebo, and according to Jordy, “It was perfect.”
It is a story that could have turned out much differently. Not everyone can cope with having their perfect plans torn asunder; not everyone survives the virus. But for Bailey and Jordy Ashley, the outcome is a happy ending. They are looking forward to their rescheduled reception on June 8, when Bailey will finally get to wear her pretty wedding dress. Jordy wanted her to save it for that occasion so everyone could see her in it. The Fraziers and Rays will be able to see their granddaughter and grandson-in-law celebrate their wedding in style and wish them happily-ever-after in person.
For this is a family that deserves a happy ending. Last year, only three months after Bailey and Jordy’s engagement, Bailey’s young brother, 10-year-old A.J. Ray, tragically lost his life in an accident on the family’s farm near Wasola. The family’s ensuing grief continues to take its awful toll on all the relatives and friends who loved him. But what better therapy could there be for a still-grieving family than to celebrate with a young couple happily starting their married life together!
Bailey will graduate from Drury University in December with a degree in criminal justice; Jordy plans to continue his work on the frontline of defense against a cruel pandemic that threw a couple of curves into their perfect plans. The virus is proving to be a strong opponent – but not nearly strong enough to defeat the power of love.