It's May 15, 2020 and our world has changed drastically because of Covid-19. Many of us are stuck in our homes and if we are not, we are just starting to come out of quarantine unsure of what will come and when we can gather again. The Wedding and Events industry is powering through every day, pivoting plans for our clients and guiding them to make safe decisions for themselves and their guests while honoring the countless hours that went into planning these celebrations. Unfortunately, we are now at a point where we look out to the rest of 2020 and the vision of hosting gathers of 100+ people in the manner are used to and have planned for is unlikely. The decision to postpone is not as simple as it was a couple months ago. While we still recommend the same thought process from our previous post - which will help you get to place that you are ready to move forward with a plan b - we're now sharing some updated insight we have learned from our clients and want to help you find the best plan b for you and your fiance.
Option 1: Copy and Paste to 2021
Is it important to you to keep ALL of your original plans for your Wedding? Whether that be ensuring all your guests can attend or keeping the same date, you are willing to push it a year out in order to move forward with the Wedding you have always envisioned. THINGS TO CONSIDER:
Love is not postponed! It may feel like you are putting your life on hold for another year or your life plan is being thrown off for a year - the beautiful part of getting married is that you are committing to your partner forever - and this time is included in that! You're already on your journey.
You may incur additional costs with your vendors to accomodate for 2021 or premium date pricing. While it is an uncertain and stressful time, these are reasonable asks to ensure your vendors are available for you, which includes them getting through these tough financial times. They are worth it to keep your Wedding vision on track!
No one will remember the date! You are the only one that is focused in on that number. If you have to adjust the date slightly to accomodate for an important vendor - keep your priorities at top of mind. All of your guests (including you) are going to remember how much fun they had and the feeling in the room - not the date on the calendar.
Option 2: Celebrate Now, Party Later
With the safety of your friends and family in mind, asking them to come together this year to celebrate your Wedding in a large group may not be possible. The struggle between wanting to get married and start your lives as husband and wife while also still being able to celebrate with your family and friends is real! Believe it or not, you can have both! Having a small intimate ceremony to legalize your marriage while postponing the full celebration and party to 2021 is a great option to get the best of both worlds!
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
Deciding who to include in your smaller intimate ceremony can be a tough call. Whether you are under a limit from your local government or capacity of your location, avoiding any hurt feelings while obeying guidelines is a tough line to balance.
A few recommendations to keep it small:
Just you two! When else would you have the opportunity to have an intimate ceremony between the two of you celebrating your love?
Keep it to parents or immediate family - this helps eliminate anyone who feels they should be there with a title purely.
Keep it to parents, immediately family and bridal party - this helps eliminate any friend politics you are battling. Also removing any plus ones is also a way to cut down the list!
People are going to be ready to celebrate more than ever! Coming out of quarantine and ready to celebrate at full speed once we are able to host gatherings again!
Option 3: Pivot Completely
Perhaps the thought of postponing and extending your Wedding planning is exhausting and you want to figure out a way to make it happen in 2020. There's tons of ways to pivot and move forward with planning for a 2020 Wedding amid the COVID-19 pandemic while keeping it personal and special. Not sure how to do it? Here are some ideas: HOW TO PIVOT
Downsize your guest count and make it a small elopement! Including just some close family members in an intimate ceremony followed by a small dinner is a great way to still celebrate your marriage while offering the opportunity to toasts surrounded by loved ones.
Stream it! Lots of couples are turning to virtual event platforms to livestream their ceremony and include friends and family from all over the world. It's a great way to include loved ones that may not even have been able to attend the original plans!
Bring it on the road! If a lot of your friends and family are local, break up the celebrations to a few friends or family members homes. You can start the day with a small ceremony, then rent a limo or fun car to bring you to various destinations and celebrate with smaller groups.
Make it just the two of you! Again, having a small ceremony just the two of you is a unique celebration not many couples get to have!
