COVID-19 canceled her destination wedding. She pulled off a Charlotte one in 7 hours.
“Hey, I have a feeling things are going to get crazy tomorrow, and you really need to get married today.”
These were the words Kenna Ehman heard from Lysa TerKeurst, a woman who she refers to as her “second mother.” Ehman is the co-owner of local South End salon, Kenna Kunijo, located on Camden Road, next to Girl Tribe Co.’s retail shop. In just a few days, the novel coronavirus COVID-19, drastically altered her life’s course, from a rescheduled destination wedding to the government-mandated closing of her business.
“We had planned to do a small destination wedding with less than 30 people in Spain next weekend,” Ehman said. The rapidly advancing coronavirus and state of the world posed a challenge to her and her soon to be husband, Jason Muffett’s, plans.
“I was very defiant, and I believed it would happen,” she said.
Once the borders between the United States and Europe were shut down, however, Ehman knew her defiance wouldn’t help her: Her wedding plans would change.
“I thought, let’s just do it in the mountains,” Ehman said. She has family that lives in a mountain house. That Sunday morning, she went for a power walk with a friend while her fiance was still sleeping and received the call from TerKeurst warning her to have the wedding sooner rather than later.
“It was 10:30 in the morning, and I kept saying, ‘I’m really not sure about this.’”
After much debating, a decision was made.
“Alright, let’s do it,” Ehman said. The wedding would be held in Waxhaw on that day, March 22.
PULLING TOGETHER A LAST-MINUTE WEDDING
Ehman let us in on one element that helped pull together a wedding in record time: her enneagram number.
“My basically sisters and business partner are Eights, along with one sister who’s a sentimental Four, which means we’re always up for a challenge,” she said.
“My people pulled together a backyard wedding in seven hours and 15 minutes. We threw some chairs out on the patio, and we had leftover flowers (prepared by Madi Vincent) from a video shoot the day before. We used those and the flowers from the yard. Everyone just kind of pitched in.”
When Ehman informed family members of the last-minute wedding decision, she said they were shocked.
“They all said, ‘What? You’re getting married? I’m so confused.’ But all day everyone asked what they could do to help,” Ehman said.
The wedding photographer couldn’t make it back from Nashville in time, so Ehman’s sister, Ashley Terk — a local influencer — asked a girl on her team, Brooke Vaughn, to photograph the wedding. Elyse Serrano captured wedding videos. Wedding planner Melanie Wall of Events by Summer Joy was helpful throughout the process, keeping everything organized and on track to help Hope TerKeurst and Lysa TerKeurst bring the vision to life.
New York Bride & Groom procured her dress in record time. Brooke TerKeurst shared the wedding on Instagram Live. And Joselyn Lukacik, owner of Sweet Spot Studio, had a cake ready within an hour.
“Kenna is the first friend I made in Charlotte right around six years ago,” Lukacik said. “We had always talked about me doing her wedding cake, and I am not going to lie, I was slightly disappointed I wouldn’t be able to since she was getting married in Spain.
“Kenna texted me on a long shot Sunday morning asking if I had any cakes laying around. Within an hour, I had the cake done. I guess it was always meant to be that I would get to make her wedding cake,” Lukacik said. “I have three friends, including Kenna, who have had to cancel their weddings. I am so glad they got married anyway. They can have a big party later, but right now the world can use some love.”
Ehman’s ring arrived just in time — two days before the wedding. She opted for a lab-grown diamond from Bare Diamonds, so it needed to be shipped from China. The Kenna Kunijo salon partners with Lily Pad Haven, an organization that rescues and houses women who have been victims of human trafficking, so Ehman wanted “a cruelty-free diamond instead of a blood diamond.”
Despite all the challenges, the day was a success.
“It was so beautiful. You would have had no idea it was a last-minute wedding,” Ehman said. “Everyone came together and was super selfless. Whatever it takes, they promised to get it done.”
On March 14, Gov. Roy Cooper had banned gatherings of 100 or more across the state.
In person, Ehman and Muffett’s wedding totaled 20 people, most of whom were her family and had already been in quarantine together. The rest of the guests worked at the salon with Ehman, so they’d already been in each other’s presence for the past few weeks. Still, Ehman spread chairs and tables apart to practice social distancing. Ehman used Zoom to safely include additional members of the bride and groom’s families.
“It’s a really hard time, but it’s cool to see how everyone comes together and sees what we can do to help each other,” Ehman said.
On March 23, one day after the wedding, Cooper banned gatherings of 50 or more in North Carolina. He also announced the closure of certain businesses — including hair salons.
OWNING A SMALL BUSINESS IN THE MIDST OF THE VIRUS
“Yesterday, I woke up, my first day of being married, and I got notice that we had to close [the salon].”
Ehman and her business partner, Lauren Kunijo (who was also her maid of honor), originally decided to close the salon for the week and figure the rest out afterward. But due to the state’s order, now they had no choice.
“I don’t think our situation is different than anyone else’s,” Ehman said of local businesses. However, she noted that some can take their businesses online. Ehman and her team don’t have that luxury. “Ours is a service, and if we’re not allowed to do services, we can’t make money,” she said.
To help create revenue to cover essential overhead costs as well as the team, Ehman and Kunijo are working on putting up tutorial services online, including “do your own hair” videos with kits for purchase from the salon. More will be announced in the upcoming week.
“We’re hoping government funding can cover overhead,” Ehman said. The salon will be offering hats and t-shirts available for curbside pickup. Ehman stressed that the team will be using and changing gloves frequently to practice safe handling. In addition, she mentioned that any money sent to them via Venmo is being used to pay their bills and for the team.
“Being a small business and a startup, it’s hard. You don’t have an emergency fund, but we want to make sure we are taking care of our team,” Ehman said. “We’re trying to be forward-thinking and come up with things on how we can get support.”
STAYING POSITIVE THROUGH HARDSHIP
Even after all of the big changes, canceled plans and business closings, Ehman remains positive.
With the publicity the wedding received, Ehman shared that she’s had 15 heartbroken brides reach out to her asking how she pulled it off.
“At the end of the day, I had an amazing support system,” she said. She’s offered advice to the brides, as well as hair and makeup services, if they decide to have a last-minute wedding.
“I want to be able to help because I know how hard this is,” Ehman said.
Ehman’s action reminds us of an important message: We must remain positive and help one another. It’s the best way to weather the storm.
“My grandma always used to tell us: At the end of the day, there’s always someone who has it worse than you. Be thankful for what you have. Go find someone else who is less fortunate than you and bless them,” Ehman said.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 5:30 AM.
