5 Tips For Planning Your Wedding During A Pandemic
The title of this blog is something that I never thought I’d even end up writing. If you asked me in January I’d wonder who would need 5 tips for planning your wedding during a pandemic, I would have thought you lost your mind. It’s amazing how everything changed in the last few months and how much we’ve all changed our way of life. 2020 was supposed to be the year of weddings. There were so many popular dates (think 10/10/20 or 2/22/20) and the year started off great. But by the end of March, it was apparent that the weddings and the wedding industry as a whole were in for some major changes.
With so many couples in the same situation with wedding planning, I thought I might give some tips on planning a wedding during the pandemic. These tips will work for any couple getting married in the next 18 months or so. So whether you had to postpone your spring or summer wedding or are planning for a later 2020 or 2021 wedding, check out some of the tips below.
5 Tips For Planning Your Wedding During A Pandemic
- Wedding Vendors Are Going to Be In Short Supply
Since everyone is shifting their plans it’s starting to look like fall 2020 and especially all of 2021 will be the year of weddings. I recommend not waiting until the last minute to book your vendors. If you have a venue you have your heart set on or a photographer you’ve dreamed of having at your wedding don’t wait too long to book them. Venues and photographers are typically the first two wedding vendors booked for weddings.
Consider this tip number 1.5 for the couples who are postponing their dates and already booked vendors, find out your vendors’ available dates as soon as you know you’re going to postpone so you can get the date you want. Wedding vendors are doing lots of juggling with their schedules and moving lots of couples around.
2. Research and Consider Virtual Options
This is the time to research. Get the details of your wedding in order so that when you can do things like meetings and tours you’re ready and know what you’re looking for already. Also, see if your vendors are up for virtual tours or if they’d like to meet over facetime or skype. Since so many people had to learn Zoom overnight that may also be an option. I don’t know about other types of vendors, but most photographers I know are very familiar with Zoom. I personally like to use an app called Whereby. It doesn’t involve a download or signing up for anything. But I am more than willing to meet with any of the options I’ve mentioned or just have a phone call to chat.
3. Consider Fridays and Sunday Dates
Saturdays are by far the most popular dates to have weddings. There are only a limited number of Saturdays in a year. But Fridays and Sundays aren’t nearly as popular and that opens the possibilities on available dates for your vendors. Also, some vendors (especially venues) don’t charge as much for Fridays and Sundays.
4. Consider A Vow Renewal
I myself had a vow renewal 5 years ago. I legally married my husband with the intention of having our ceremony the next year. But life and kids happened and it didn’t happen until 6 years later. The one thing I wanted was to get to celebrate with our friends and family. So if you really just can’t wait to legally marry the love of your life, consider getting legally married and then having your celebration when you can have all your friends and family there with you. Some couples are opting to have a small ceremony with only immediate family in attendance and then have a big celebration later.
5. Take A Deep Breath
I know your wedding or your wedding planning isn’t how you thought it would be, but in the end, it’s important to remember the things that matter. I think that the pandemic taught us how much we took regular human interaction for granted. The most important part of your wedding is that you’re marrying the love of your life in front of the most important people in both your lives.
I hope my 5 tips for planning a wedding during a pandemic were helpful with your wedding planning. Good luck to all the couples out there with weddings in 2020 and 2021.
If you’d like more wedding planning tips click here to read my other blogs full of tips.
