A couple held their wedding at a drive-in movie theater during the pandemic and the results were magical

Hoffman and Sminkey went to high school together but didn't actually meet until years later when Sminkey was dating Hoffman's cousin. After time had passed and Hoffman's cousin gave her her full blessing for the two to date, the couple hit it off.

Six years later, the couple got engaged at a New Year's Eve Ball at Folino Estate Vineyard & Winery in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. It also happened to be Hoffman's 30th birthday: December 31, 2018.

"We got dressed up and had a nice dinner and dancing," she said. "When it turned midnight, the fireworks went off and Steven got down on one knee. It was very 'fairytale.' My family and friends also came out and it was a really special night."

"We set our wedding date about a year in advance," Hoffman said. "We knew we wanted to be at SunnyBrook and have an outdoor wedding and indoor ceremony. It's a beautiful venue and the whole event space allowed for everything to be in one place, and it was local to us."

Since Hoffman and Sminkey already had their attire, food, and other vendors planned for June prior to the pandemic, it was really important to them to keep their original date the same.

When Hoffman reached out to SunnyBrook at the beginning of the pandemic, things were still uncertain about how their wedding would be affected. The venue told the couple to wait and see what happened.

However, as their wedding day approached, they started discussing other options such as having a much smaller wedding with their other guests watching on Zoom, or rescheduling the wedding altogether.

"When we brought that up, the venue said that we could have all our guests come and still have our full wedding, so we went with it," Hoffman said.

"SunnyBrook took off — they had so many ideas and threw all of their resources into it. I always wanted to keep our date and didn't want to push off the wedding, so we were ecstatic to find a way for everyone to still be there and get married," Hoffman said.

Marshall Scott, the couple's wedding photographer, told Insider, "Usually, I meet with my brides a couple of months in advance to get an idea of what they're thinking for the wedding, so we had originally planned for something different with a sizable guest list in the ballroom and the garden."

When Scott learned the couple was planning to have their wedding at the drive-in, he was on board.

"I haven't seen anything like it in my time as a wedding photographer, so it was really exciting to do something I hadn't done before and find new, creative ways to shoot in that environment," he said.

"We told our guests that it was going to be a really different wedding," Hoffman said. "Everyone was really excited, especially since everyone's been pretty cooped up and it was just nice for people to get out and do something."

Scott, the photographer, explained that being able to capture the emotion of the day was a unique challenge but so rewarding.

"A lot of emotion is held in the face, and when people have masks on, how do you still tell that story while maintaining your distance as much as possible?" Scott said. "From capturing people watching the wedding through a window to showing their grandparents' reactions, who they couldn't go and hug, it required finding those moments that really connected with the couple."

He continued, "The challenges reminded me of why I do what I do and the ability to react to different circumstances to get the story told, whether there's a pandemic or not. Even though their day had changed, their love was exactly the same. We knew from the very beginning that it was going to be a rock star day."

Leading up to the nighttime ceremony, The Uptown Band played for Hoffman and Sminkey's guests, who could either sit in their cars and listen to the music or get up and dance.

Guests were treated to finger food hor d'oeuvres perfect for sitting in the car, as well as the drive-in's regular menu, which had everything from chicken fingers and burgers to funnel cake, fries, popcorn, candy, and sandwiches.

"We decided to really go with the drive-in theme," Hoffman told Insider. "The food was everything you would want at a drive-in movie. It was great that everyone could order whatever they wanted all night long, and didn't have to stick to the traditional steak or salmon you usually get at weddings."

Once it was dark enough for the projection screen just after sunset, the ceremony began.

"We got the party in beforehand, which was really cool," Hoffman said.

"Normally, at your ceremony, it's very quiet. As the bridesmaids were walking down the aisle on the big screen, people began shouting and cheering for us. We couldn't help but smile as everyone was cheering us on," Hoffman said.

Everything from the couple's first dances to their introductions, speeches, and a performance by Hoffman's cousin were also broadcast on the big screen for everyone to watch.

The band then played again until late into the night, so guests could hang out and enjoy the rest of the evening.

Hoffman said they both couldn't have been any happier with how things turned out.

"Everything we suggested, the venue went with," Hoffman said. "If we had been able to go ahead with our 'normal' wedding, we would have of course been happy, but how everything turned out was so amazing."

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