Newlyweds Lauryn and Phil Lanigan – Courtesy Mercury Photography
By Jill Fox
While taking a walk near Covered Bridge Park, Meredith and Cory Spencer discovered what looked like a wedding with just a few people in attendance.
The couple had been taking nightly strolls around their neighborhood of Bell Parkland Apartments. On April 3, they encountered a young bride and groom who were initially planning a wedding for 150 guests on that day in Miami.
Lauryn and Phil Lanigan, both 26, decided to postpone their Miami celebration because they didn’t want guests to have to make travel decisions amid COVID-19 restrictions.
Raised in Parkland, and a graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Lauryn chose to have the unconventional ceremony at Covered Bridge Park in Parkland because her father used to take her and her sister, Karly there as children, while living in Sabal Pass.
As Meredith and Cory — both wedding photographers, approached the couple, they were about to start the ceremony.
Wedding guests wore masks. Courtesy Mercury Photography
Noticing their use of cellphones to capture their photos, Meredith asked if they minded if she photographed their wedding for them. They agreed, and she quickly ran home to grab her gear.
“As a wedding photographer, I just couldn’t let that happen,” said Meredith, who shot the nuptials using a zoom lens so she could keep an appropriate social distance. Nor did she charge the couple for her service.
She said she just wanted to be kind, and for Lauryn and Phil to have some quality photos to remember their special day. Meredith, who owns Mercury Photography with her husband, Cory, made the newlyweds an online digital gallery with a few hundred photos.
Although the few event cancellations due to COVID-19 have changed their income in some capacity, they are both fortunate to have other full-time jobs.
Cory teaches middle school science and coaches baseball at Coral Springs Charter School, and Meredith is a Communications Director at Parkridge Church. In the future, the couple hopes to ultimately be able to photograph weddings full time.
As far as the chance meeting in the park, Lauryn said Meredith is a phenomenal person.
“The wedding pictures wouldn’t have been as meaningful. It was a blessing to have her there.”
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