How Animal Crossing Helped A Couple Celebrate Their Postponed Wedding

As the coronavirus pandemic forces social distancing, players have turned to social games like the newly-released Animal Crossing: New Horizons to connect with friends and socialize. One couple who was forced to postpone their wedding found themselves the recipients of a surprise, all inside the carefree world of their own New Horizons island.

The story first appeared on the Animal Crossing subreddit, and fans took notice of the sweet gesture. The wholesome event seemed like a natural fit for Animal Crossing. The couple, Sharmin Asha and Nazmul Ahmed, explained how the Animal Crossing nuptials got started.

The two realized they had to postpone the wedding in late February and early March, as the COVID-19 outbreak was beginning to gather momentum and make major news. It was in this time period that organizers for the Game Developers Conference announced it would be postponed this year, and just before the ESA announced the same for E3. Public gatherings were still permitted, but it was increasingly clear they weren't advisable.

"We felt that it would be in everyone's best interest to postpone the wedding," Asha told GameSpot. "We would never want any of our friends and family to potentially be exposed to something that would hurt them because of us."

Still, the timing was difficult. The wedding was just weeks away, and the decision to cancel was made just days before Asha's bridal shower, and her wedding dress had just arrived. It also came just as she was preparing to graduate, which marked another life event that was being disrupted by world events.

"It left us all very disappointed and upset, and feeling like something special was taken from us," she said.

Asha confided in her friends about her disappointment, but Ahmed was at work on secret plans. The two had just started playing Animal Crossing together and he took the lead explaining the idea to their friends. Asha recalled that he spent basically an entire day preparing the surprise.

"He put in a lot of details in having an alter and lining the aisle with flowers," Asha explained. "He took me to the island under the pretense that he had resources for me. When I landed on the island there were arrows on the floor and my fiance basically told me there was an in island event going on there and I should follow the arrows."

"As I followed the arrows there was a white dress dropped on the floor and flowers for me to wear and I saw all my friends characters were there. He then pulled out the video chat with all my friends showing me what was going on."

The wedding was an intimate celebration--just a handful of Animal Crossing friends to see the couple. And of course it doesn't quite make up for the real thing. The couple is still participating in social isolation and planning for their future. But like a lot of couples who have been suddenly placed in close quarters, the two are making the best of it.

"We're both just trying to take this time to reflect on our lives and just enjoy this amount of time we have to spend with each other," Asha said. "Both of us being busy individuals don't often have a lot of time together so even in this were trying to take a positive note on the bad situation as much as we can."