C. E. Riddiford, National Geographic Society
A Modern Pilgrim’s map of the British Isles, or more precisely the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State, 1937.
Moore Sheet Map Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/44306.0001
“We were supposed to travel to Salisbury, England, to attend the wedding of my niece. Plane tickets were booked well in advance and we had reserved rooms at a lovely old B&B to gather with family. Because our family (on my side) lives in England we are not able to gather on a regular basis and this would have been a time to see everyone together to celebrate this happy occasion.” -Lori Parkinson
“In April 2020 I was supposed to go to Europe for three weeks. The itinerary included visiting my parents in London, England, then attending a wedding in Oxford, England, then straight to another wedding in Katowice, Poland, then seeing extended family in Krakow, Poland, and finally visiting my grandmother in Szczecin, Poland. One of the weddings was rescheduled for November 2020 and I planned to do the whole trip then, but by that point another wave of the virus hit the world […] In the end both couples got married happily with no guests and I hope I will be able to see my family for Christmas. [My flight vouchers expire in March 2022—eek!].” -Maine resident
Published under the direction of Major-General Kishori Lai Khosia, Surveyor General of India
Road Map of India [Bhrata k saaka mnacitra], 1977.
Osher Map Library Sheet Map Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/15265.0001
“My good friend from graduate school was supposed to get married in Jaipur, India, in October of 2020. I was about to purchase my plane ticket last spring when COVID hit and caused the general shutdown. My friend and her fiance decided to postpone their wedding as a result, so we will all be going in October 2021. In June, 2020, they decided they wanted to get married before October 2021, so they asked me to officiate a small (seven-person) wedding in a wooded park near Boston. It was a wonderful ceremony, and I look forward to the larger, planned wedding in India in the future.” -Anna
W.J. McGee
United States Geological Survey
Primeval Forests and Swamps of North-Eastern Iowa, 1889.
Morin Sheet Map Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/50178.0001
“I was supposed to go to Des Moines, Iowa, for my niece’s wedding. Instead, I attended my first Zoom wedding, which the priest did a bodacious job of staging; my nephew’s sweetie used her SmartPhone to ‘film’ the event, demonstrating people’s ingenuity, willingness to help out, and an adaptability to circumstances that was impressive […] My Mother is still a wee bit miffed that her wedding invitation was ‘revoked,’ because my sister (the bride’s stepmother) didn’t want my Mom possibly exposed to COVID because of her feeling she ‘had to’ attend the wedding.” -Anonymous
Gio. Carlo Castellini
Map of Italy, 1848.
Michie Sheet Map Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/209.0001
“My best friend had been planning a destination wedding in Rome. A villa had been rented and 30 of her closest friends and family were to attend. I am the maid of honor so was very involved in the planning process. We had all been anxiously monitoring COVID and about a month before the wedding was supposed to take place (end of April 2020), they decided to cancel everything. At the time Italy was the most heavily impacted country by COVID in the world. The wedding has once again been postponed and hopefully will be happening next year. I was so sad to have this trip cancelled and I was very upset for my friend; it has really hit her hard. Seeing her wedding dress hanging up in her closet every day cannot be easy!” -Julia Gustafson
Guillaume de L’Isle
Map of the Island of Saint Domingue, Drawn up in 1722 for the use of the King, from the memory of Mr. Frezier, Engineer of S.M., and others, with Astronomical Observations by G. de l’Isle, first Geographer to the King, Academy of Royal Sciences, Amsterdam, 1722.
Engass Sheet Map Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/80.0001
“My boyfriend’s sister’s wedding was supposed to be in the Dominican Republic and was canceled. She ended up getting married at a courthouse and has yet to have her reception due to COVID-19.” -Sarah
John Senex
A New Map of France, Agreeable to the Observations of the Royal Academy at Paris, Humbly Inscribed to the most Noble John, Lord Marquis of Carnarvon by his humble Servant, John Senex, 1721.
Smith Sheet Map Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/1838.0001
“We had our honeymoon scheduled and booked (all flights, hotels, AirBnb, event tickets, etc.) for May 25, 2020. The agenda was: direct flight on Air France Boston to Paris; two days of watching tennis at the French Open; one day in the Champagne region for tastings; one day exploring Paris, then to Portugal and Spain. […] We had used specific travel credit cards for the past few years to save up points for this trip. We were married in January 2020 and this was the perfect timing for after our wedding. We also wanted to go on a honeymoon before we tried to have a child to enjoy the countries to the fullest. May was perfect timing with my USM semester ending and my husband’s job not being in season. We are very fortunate that we booked almost everything through points that were all refunded or replaced and then had a few event ticket reservations that were fully refunded.” -Emily Newell
Justus Pethes
Map of the south-eastern part of Australia, showing the discoveries in interior New South Wales, 1846.
Story Sheet Map Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/12804.0001
“My older sister’s wedding was scheduled for March 21, 2020, in Australia. Three days before our scheduled flight, Australia locked down the country requiring anyone entering the country to quarantine for 14 days. Since there were not 14 days until the wedding at that point, it made it impossible for my family to attend. They decided to go forward with the wedding only with his immediate family [in attendance] given the COVID concerns. Since there are many visa issues it made sense for them to go forward with the marriage. My sister is my best friend and not being by her side on this big day was a very personal sadness. That being said, we know it could have been so much worse if a family member had become sick.” -Haywood
Anthony Finley
Map of the state of New York, 1827.
Textile Museum Sheet Map Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/50983.0001
“My then-fiance Steve and I were supposed to load up the car and drive to my Central New York hometown for a wedding with about 80 friends and family members at a local distillery. We went back and forth about canceling in the months leading up to it, since it was before the second big spike and we didn’t realize how bad things would get. I would have thought I’d have been heartbroken, but there was so much going on in our lives and around the world that a wedding seemed completely insignificant. At the same time, it was more important than ever, for emotional and practical reasons, that we get married. We’d just bought a house together, and with our families out of state, we were pretty much all the other person had. Another timing constraint was that Steve’s father’s health was declining, and we wanted him to marry us in his capacity as an Episcopal priest. We decided to do a ceremony as small as was legally possible, with just Steve’s parents and a high school friend as the second witness. On a single day in June we woke up early, drove to Rhode Island, got married, ate some Italian sandwiches we’d brought from Amato’s, and drove back. […] The hardest thing ended up being the absence of my family. We’d downplayed it to ourselves as just a legal formality. After all, we’d been living together several years, and we’d do the big party with everyone as soon as it was safe. Talking on the phone to my parents that day, though, we all broke down. ‘I never thought my daughter would get married, and I wouldn’t be there,’ my Pop said.” -Kate
“I planned to travel to Plattsburgh, New York, last July to attend a family wedding. […] What finally was going to draw me to Plattsburgh was the wedding of my niece Michaela. She was going to be the first of my six nieces and nephews to get married, so it marked a significant milestone in the generational history of the family. The wedding took place as scheduled with the reduced numbers mandated by the State of New York because of the pandemic. I didn’t make the revised A-list. That was limited to parents, siblings, and grandparents. There is a tentative plan to hold a reception in Plattsburgh this July, but it won’t be the same. The moment has passed.” -David Richards
