Go Ahead, Blow Out the Candles on Zoom

Alison Coleman

May 14, 2020In Uncategorized

In a strange twist, a pandemic birthday party might actually be the easiest party you ever throw.

A birthday party under normal circumstances takes hours of preparation: cooking and cleaning, decorating and primping. This year, you only have to get dressed from the waist up and tidy the corner of your home that people can see on video chat. Honestly, bonus.

You can also take advantage of the new format to include far-flung family and friends who might not have been able to join in-person gathering.

A socially distant birthday does, however, call for a dash of corniness and a pinch of magical thinking (and remember, if you are not up for it, it’s fine to sit this one out). But you can, for sure, make it feel real.

Read More

They Placed A Laptop On A Stack Of Books, Then Got Married On Zoom

Alison Coleman

May 14, 2020In Uncategorized

We at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you a range of stories, from the serious to the lighthearted. To help keep it all free, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Outbreak Today.

The dress code was “Zoom formal, pants optional.” And when Mark Van Name and Jen O’Leary got married in their New York City apartment Saturday afternoon, their virtual guests dressed for the occasion.

They wore tuxedos on top with shorts on the bottom. They donned pearls, T-shirts, cocktail dresses, swim trunks, and festive hats. One friend, a doctor at a hospital, called in wearing scrubs and a face mask.

“The one thing Mark wanted to make sure was on the invite was that pants were optional,” O’Leary, a 27-year-old who works in technology management, told BuzzFeed News of Van Name, 28, who works in customer experience strategy for Con Edison.

Read More