Covid 19 ruining your wedding plans? This post is for you! Wedding planning is already stressful enough but now add in a global pandemic … it’s a whole new level of intensity. One that no one has ever faced before and girl, I feel you! I am a 2020 bride that was planning a July wedding and I am right alongside you. 

First, it’s ok to be sad. Read that again. You are allowed to grieve this loss. I have struggled with this because there are so many people with bigger issues but just because your struggle doesn’t look the same, you are still allowed to have feelings. Process those feelings, don’t just stuff them away. Work through them. 

Second, have a lot of extra grace with your fiancé. Everyone deals with stress and situations differently and this is amplified amidst this situation. There are hundreds of what ifs that could be going through someone’s head and we have no idea of that battle. Make time to talk through feelings and see how they are feeling about the wedding. 

Third, don’t worry what other’s are going to think. This is the hardest for me. It’s the wing 2 in me that wants to make sure people are happy but reality is there’s never going to be a way to make everyone happy. The sooner we accept that, the better it will be for our own mental health. It’s a daily (sometimes even hourly choice) we have to make and stay strong in that. You have your fiancé on your team. You guys are going to be one, start facing the world as a team now and it will make it a little bit easier. 

Fourth, your love is still going to be celebrated! Your love is worth celebrating! The celebration may look completely different from what you were planning but it will still be celebrated. Marriage is one of God’s gift to us and it is always a good reason to celebrate and honor. 

We wanted to put together a post of some of the unique ideas we have been seeing from couples of how they are getting married & celebrating to inspire you in your own pandemic wedding planning! 

1. Postpone your wedding until later in 2020 or to 2021! 

This is a great option if you don’t want to change your wedding plans, you want to have your whole guest list there when you say “I do” and you are willing to wait a little bit longer. We recommend getting in touch with your vendors that you have contracts with BEFORE you choose to postpone your wedding so that you can work on finding a date that works for most of their schedules. Given the current circumstances, most vendors have had a lot of rescheduling which means the schedules are filling up quickly. If there is no way to get all of your vendors on one date, choose the most important vendors that you want and work with their schedule. Once you have a new date, you can work on securing new vendors for the spots you need filled again. 

2. Elope, Get Married with just the two of you! 

There are many options for this with the simplest one being go to the courthouse and get married. Love doesn’t have to wait for a pandemic to stop, get married with just you two and focus on what truly matters. You can make it special with handwritten vows, getting dressed in your wedding dress & having flowers & hiring a photographer or you can keep it simple and go to the courthouse on a random day and make it official. There’s no right or wrong way to do it. And remember, this is about you & your fiancé … nobody else. People will always have an opinion but it does not have to affect you. Get a cake, pop the champagne, celebrate in your own way!

3. Get married this year & have a party later! 

There’s no rules about when you have your wedding reception. Sure, there are the traditions but traditions aren’t the law and given the circumstances, I think most people will understand this. If you don’t want to wait to get married but still want to have a reception, then do it! It’s the best of both worlds! A few of our couples are choosing to get married this year by going to the courthouse or having a small ceremony and then having a one year anniversary bash next year! What better way to celebrate 1 year than throwing a big party!! This allows you to still have the wedding of your dreams and you get to celebrate TWICE! Like I mentioned with postponing, be sure to talk with your vendors before you make any decisions about dates so you can see who is available. 

Our friend, Elizabeth from Paper Crane Calligraphy is doing this! She is an open book and a wedding planner herself so if you need advice, chat with her!

4. Have an intimate wedding! 

This is dependent on national, state, and local orders but it may be possible for you to have a very small intimate wedding with your family. Right now, we are predicting that non essential gatherings of 10 people or less will be allowed first as things start to reopen. Something to keep in mind with this is that the group of 10 people need to include any vendors that would be there day of (photographer, officiant, hair stylist, caterer). Of course these regulations depend on where you live and we are expecting that they will change so this is a decision that will have to be made as it gets closer to your wedding date. Again, talk with your vendors to see what their professional opinion is and what your options are as well as stay up to date with what your local law is. 

Let’s all say it together : MARRIAGE IS IMPORTANT.

Remember that as you work through the unknowns of planning your wedding. Remember why you are planning your wedding … you are madly in love with the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. A wedding is one day of celebration, a marriage is the rest of your life. We love weddings, but at the end of the day, we love marriage more! Each couple needs to ask the hard questions and decide what is best for them. There is no right or wrong answer in how to face this, truly there isn’t a map we can follow. Each of us needs to do what is best for our relationship and celebrate love in the way that feels best for them! 

We are here for you, we mean that! If you need any help, have questions, need a photographer to capture your love … send us an email (seneca@senecaryan.com) and we will absolutely help in any way we can!