I think I could take up a career as a wedding planner for the amount of times I’ve planned our own wedding. Plan A comprised at least 200 guests and pie and peas buffet, until we received the letter explaining that our venue had gone into liquidation. With 4 ½ months to go, it was time for plan B.
Thankfully, we were able to book a new, more intimate venue for 100 guests on the same date.
...and then the announcement came that weddings would be restricted to 30 guests and we are onto Plan C.
It’s difficult to visualise your day in so much uncertainty, but there are still ways of getting excited again, enjoying your planning, and getting ready to become a married couple…
Celebrate the small things
We have chosen to celebrate everything, and I mean everything. We find a deal on bridesmaid dresses? Prosecco. We make our next payment on our venue? Prosecco. We choose the suits? Prosecco. We don’t have to wait for the huge successes to celebrate and enjoy planning. When we celebrate the small things, we’ll leave little room for stress to sink in.
Begin to visualise your new day
Whether you’ve chosen to postpone or you’re going ahead with social distance measures in place, your day will likely look different to your original plan. If you’re having a smaller wedding, consult the wisdom that is Pinterest in researching how to host an ‘intimate’ wedding. You’ll find yourself visualising new ideas and allowing yourself to get excited again. Suddenly, your smaller or postponed wedding won’t feel like a lesser-than option. It will become something that you can look forward to in a new way.
Get your helpers ready
Friends and family will be willing to help you prepare for your day, now more than ever. If you haven’t postponed your wedding and are awaiting government updates, you may be completing some of your wedding to-do list last minute. Your friends and family could be key in helping you pull off last-minute plans and reducing your stress, so that you can fully enjoy your wedding week.
Write a to-do list and place a name next to each item you think you may need help with. Then, ask that person if they’d be willing to help you closer to the wedding. You’ll be surprised by how much people want to help and support you!
Back-up dates and sequel weddings
If you are choosing not to postpone or would like to have a larger celebration in 2021, chat with your venue about pencilling in a possible back-up date or planning a sequel wedding together. A sequel wedding could comprise a ceremony and (if possible) a small reception this year, with a larger reception the next. You could even have a symbolic commitment ceremony in front of those who weren't able to attend the legal ceremony. This option is particularly helpful if you have an agreed package with your venue.
Carry on dating
Too many of my conversations with my fiancé have focused on the wedding and it’s easy to forget to date one another. Why not commit to a date once a week? They don’t have to be fancy, expensive or last for hours, although they could if you wanted them to! It could be a walk in the park and leaving the phones at home, a drive out to the countryside, a movie night with extra fancy ice cream. Now that restaurants are opening, and if you feel comfortable, why not book a table at your favourite local? Try not to talk about the wedding, as fun as it is, and you may even find you learn something new about your husband or wife-to-be.
If you’ve found these tips helpful and want to know more, head over to my Youtube Channel and follow my own wedding planning journey.
Missed the other parts of this series? Read part 1 and part 2.