Planning (and Re-Planning) a Wedding During COVID: Tips & Tricks
We know how difficult the last year and a half has been especially when it comes to weddings…
That beautiful 200 person Casa Loma wedding you were planning, gone. 125 people at Langdon Hall, sorry no. Trying to get into Haccidena Sarnia? Sorry they’re permanently closed (we’re really bummed about that one in particular). It’s. Been. Tough.
With all of that said though we’ve learnt a lot about the perseverance of love in the last year; that despite restrictions love truly does win in one way or another. Elopements that were once controversial and secretive are now the thing to do! The industry has quickly pivoted to virtual get togethers where people who weren’t even able to attend to begin with, can now join in, in some small way. It’s been fascinating to follow along with everything so we’ve decided to share the top 3 tips we’ve learnt about on wedding planning in the middle of a pandemic!
Continue reading below for more…
1. Create multiple guests list
Creating (and editing down) a guest list is hard enough under normal wedding circumstances, full stop. Add in a pandemic with constantly changing restrictions for a wedding date you picked out a year or two ago (or longer!) and creating and editing down a guest list becomes only one of the most stressful things you have to adapt to.
Something you can do to save yourself some stress is to prepare a list according to restrictions in each zone (we have a blog post here that you can reference) so as your wedding day gets closer and if things change from your original numbers you can say “we’re limited to 10 people, this is who’ll be there”, “50 people: all these family members and these friends”, etc.
If you’ve already sent out your invites you can notify your guests telling them to expect changes based on what can/can’t be done at the time, and if you’d like, you can let specific people know that they’re part of the 10, 20, 50, 100 group so they’re prepared.
For those who struggled with wedding politics (you know), think of this as blessing to truly invite those you only wanted there to begin with which are actually sentiments we overheard at a couple of elopements and micro-weddings last summer. Sorrrrrrrry Uncle Bob & Aunt Linda who we only see once every other year, the restrictions! Cathy, who we never really liked to begin with but is my mom’s work friend’s daughter, the restrictions! George, my neighbour from our old neighbourhood who my parents just happen to run into and mention that we’re getting married and now suddenly he’s invited, the restrictions!!!
2. Check in with your vendors!
This has been a rough year for everyone, we all know that. The wedding and event industry has taken a devastating hit and as much as it has hurt us and so many of our friends and peers, there’s also so much that’s out of our control right now with COVID & provincial/municipal restrictions. So as much as it hurts, we understand and empathize when plans have to change or be cancelled. It’s been tough and we truly can’t express how much we appreciate all of the couples / families who have reached out as they begin planning and re-planning their events to keep us in the loop, and to the best of their ability, to keep us on board for their rescheduled dates.
Simply sending an email to your vendors saying “We’re thinking of rescheduling and hope that we can continue to work together. What’s your availability for summer 2022?” let’s us know that 1. you value our time and relationship together for which we are so happy! and 2. it allows us to give our availability so you can cross check dates with your other vendors and hopefully keep on as many people as originally planned!
In letting us know where you’re at with either continuing on and adapting to restrictions, rescheduling, or even downsizing we can also help you adjust you photo plans! Going from a 150 person banquet hall wedding to a 15 person microwedding? You’re not going to need 2 photographers and 10 hours of coverage anymore, let us share our elopement pricing guide with you and help with your new schedule so we can make the most out of our time together!
3. Have a plan A & B
Similar to the first point: to alleviate some stress on yourself create your contingency plans now so you don’t have to do it later, or if you do it’ll be minor adjustments rather than starting from scratch.
Things probably aren’t shaping to be what you had originally planned so ask yourself this: What do you want your wedding to look like right now? Can that wedding still happen with the restrictions? Are you willing to compromise on guest count or not having a reception? (We’re huuuuuge fans of dancing, I (Stef) personally wouldn’t give this up) If you want the best of both worlds how budget friendly is a 2 part wedding: a quaint elopement now and a reception next year?
Restrictions in general aren’t great but there are things that can be done within them so creating options for yourself and your partner on what you can do now vs. what you want to do will (hopefully) make planning a wedding in the middle of a pandemic a touch easier.
If you’ve planned or are planning/re-planning your wedding right now what are some other things you have learnt/are learning along the way? Share with us below!