Planning Your Wedding During COVID-19: Advice for Engaged Couples
There’s something about being engaged that makes you feel like you’re on Cloud 9. It’s hard not to be when your mind is full of exciting ideas and the thought that you will spend a lifetime together with your main squeeze. You feel prepared to start making phone calls to vendors to curate the perfect wedding planning team, trying on options for your wedding day attire, and selecting the perfect menus and cocktails for your guests to enjoy. But then, Corona virus (aka COVID-19) rudely interrupts, and you, as well as all of us, have been left with a lot of uncertainty. You’re torn between the choices of continuing to plan everything as “normal” or hesitantly securing more vendors, making decisions, and finalizing details. Girlfriend (or guyfriend), simply put, this sucks. You deserve a heartfelt hug and a dose of love and encouragement (though a glass of champagne won’t hurt either).
It honestly feels painful and disappointing to continue planning your wedding not knowing for certain what will unfold in the next few weeks. If wedding planning wasn’t challenging enough, COVID-19 has brought an entirely new challenge for both couples and vendors to tackle.
If you’re a newly engaged couple, my heart hurts for you. This time last year I was planning my own wedding, and I can only begin to imagine the rollercoaster of emotions you’re experiencing. If you’re up to it, I recommend that you continue to plan your wedding, that you continue to get excited about this amazing celebration knowing that soon enough you’ll exchange meaningful vows with your person. But first this: know that it is okay to grieve. It is okay to be pissed off. It is okay to be confused. Give yourself permission to feel those feelings, perhaps even talk about them with a close friend or loved one. Then, when you’re ready, dust off those shoulders, fix your crown, and let’s work on what we CAN control!
Step 1: Collect Yourself & Feel Inspired
If you didn’t read the last few sentences from the paragraph before, go back and read it. Do it! I’ll wait. Okay, are you ready? Let’s work on the tasks that you can control; remember, you can plan your wedding like a boss. Work with your future partner on a budget, and come up with at least three things each that are your “must haves.” You might not 100% agree on these answers, but this conversation will put everything out on the table. It will also serve as reminders to stay on track and focused on what you both want most from your wedding rather than getting lost in the opinion of others.
Go ahead and tackle a Pinterest board. Your planner and design vendors will love you even more than they already will! Your Pinterest board aids us in getting inside your head. Plus, you’ll have fun scrolling, pinning, and thinking of all the pretty things you could do to turn your wedding from Plain Jane to totally you! Don’t overlook Instagram; it’s a great place to gather inspiration. Just be sure to save images to a collection. Once you have a feel or vibe in mind, you can look into venues that will support your vision. Compile a list of venues you want to visit, and get all of your need-to-know questions written down. You can still do a venue visit during COVID-19 as many venues are offering virtual tours. Extra bonus if the venue has a video on their website!
If you haven’t selected your wedding party yet, now is a good time! You’ll find that their love and support will be critical during this time. They will cheer you on and give you that extra encouragement you might need to continue planning your wedding. Side note: before you ask your 11 best friends to join your bride tribe, it might be worth considering your budget. A large wedding party can become a financial burden both on the side of the couple and of the asked member. You can consider having a small wedding party and asking a few individuals to take on other roles such as ushers, attendants, etc.
STEP 2: Hire a Planner or Coordinator
Okay, I may be a bit biased on this step, but the value of a wedding planner or coordinator has never been more apparent than now during COVID-19. With many spring couples needing to reschedule their weddings, planners and coordinators have swooped in like super heroes. Planners are becoming experienced at handling situations such as pandemics. The extra bonus is that planners have built relationships with other planners and wedding vendors in the industry to guide decisions and suggestions. We are all discussing the impacts of COVID-19 and trying to help each other and do what is best for couples. My job as a planner is to be your advocate and help you make the best decisions possible that will save you time and stress.
You might not have the budget for a full service wedding planner, but there are plenty of planners who offer packages that provide couples ongoing planning support. Look for packages called Wedding Management or even Event Management (sometimes known as “month-of” or “day-of”). These planners know that couples need more support than simply showing up on the day of your wedding, and COVID-19 proves that idea. When you look for a wedding planner or coordinator, be sure that you take the time to jump on a call with them. Price isn’t everything; you truly need to get to know your planner and trust them as your wedding planning coach, cheerleader, and teammate.
STEP 3: SECURE A DATE & BIG TICKET VENDORS
2020 was already a big wedding year for bookings, and a lot of empty dates have been filled with rescheduled spring couples. If you’re dead set on getting married in 2020, consider a Thursday, Friday, or Sunday wedding. I promise that your guests will still love you and show up to celebrate.
Once you’ve selected a date and a venue, work with your planner to find the best vendors for you. Your planner is a wealth of knowledge and has connections across every vendor category. They’ll make sure to put you in touch with some of their “tried-and-true” vendor partners. This makes planning your wedding a bit less stressful knowing that these vendors have a history of delivering results and being client-focused.
I understand that there are several couples out there who are hesitant to book anything right now due to worries of rescheduling and cancellation. Believe me, I’m part of many wedding Facebook groups where I have read countless threads about refund and cancellation policies. A planner will connect you with reputable vendors and assist you in reviewing contracts in the hopes of giving you more confidence.
I suspect that 2021 will become a very busy year for everyone. 2020 couples have already rescheduled into next year, and we still don’t know a lot about how COVID-19 will impact events in the fall. It is fully possible that even more weddings, or just receptions, get pushed into 2021.
STEP 4: SMILE, PRESS AHEAD, & HAVE FUN
While you might want to hold off on ordering anything such as physical invitations or anything personalized just in case, it’s totally well and good to pick out your wedding color palette, shop wedding attire, select weddings songs, and put together a wedding registry. The list of tasks for planning a wedding is quite extensive, and now is an opportune moment to knock out several tasks. I know that times are completely uncertain, and no one is guaranteed of having their wedding on their chosen date. The good news is that if you do need to post-pone, it will be all that much easier to take all your plans and transplant them to a new date. You’ll have a rockstar vendor team ready to support you in making the necessary changes, leaving you more space to enjoy your extended engagement.
Friends, you’ve got this! Believe me when I say that to you. I understand that all of this is easier said than done, but I’m confident that you can continue to enjoy your engagement. As you’ve seen on the internet, LOVE ISN’T CANCELLED. I imagine that when we get back to gathering together, it will be THAT much more special to celebrate.
I would be honored to support you on your wedding planning adventure, and there’s nothing more I’d love to do then to help navigate through these uncharted waters with a mission in mind - to celebrate and have a party to celebrate love. Don’t hesitate to send me a message with any of your wedding planning questions or needs. I would love to be part of your wedding planning party team!
Hey, I’m Terra!
Born and raised in Missouri, I’m a grateful wife and dog mom to my rescue pups, Hildi & Lola. I’m a true believer in the pursuit of bold dreams, learning from mistakes, and staying curious.
I'm a girl that lives in her Chacos during the summer, and I'm typically always wearing lipstick. Yes, red is my preference! When I'm not helping engaged couples plan weddings, you'll find me on stage teaching Jazzercise classes. Needless to say, creating engaging experiences that leave people feeling good afterwards is my passion. Seriously!
I’ve created this blog and my wedding packages to empower you to plan an awesome wedding day and put all of the stress and obligations straight into the dumpster! Now that sounds like a party.
