Five Things I Learned Planning a Covid Era Wedding
Weddings are a beast of thing to plan at any time. Throw in the uncertainty of a global pandemic and you’ve got yourself a monster. There may be some who opt to wait for normal times, but as far as I can tell that horizon may be years to come. And so we charged forward, with love as our standard, into the fray against foes known and unknown. Here are five takeaways that may aid the next bride wild enough to charge.
1) Accept that the worst may happen
An outdoor wedding in January? People thought us crazy. And perhaps five years ago, this would be the case. But in this time of gatherings becoming viral in the worst way, outdoor weddings are really the only option to create the safest possible environment for those we love. Grandparents, loved ones with illnesses, and friends with small children are all integral parts of our lives. In order to celebrate with those closest to our hearts, we opted for outside and didn’t look back.
But, as you can imagine, an outdoor wedding in January comes with an extra set of potential evils; we had to accept the possibility of them all. We may have to move our venue eight weeks before the wedding (this happened.) It may rain (this was forecast, but did not happen.) The heaters may break. The ground may be muddy. A snow storm might rush in. The virus may mutate and threaten us more severely than before. The date might have to change. The list goes on… All this and more must be accepted from the start. We accepted that it might rain and so we rehearsed a rain plan. This very fact, I suspect, is what prevented the rain. And while one cannot possibly prepare for every contingency, it is helpful to have a Plan B for the big ones and talk them through with an expert i.e. a wedding coordinator.
2) Sleep on it
The wedding planning season is marked by decision-making. One after the other, week after week, the bride and groom are tasked with decisions big and small. How many people will we invite? What colors will the bridal party wear and where will we source it? Who will hand out the programs? And while there is something to be said for not overthinking each of the questions that will arise, there are definitely some decisions I wish we had slept on. Decision fatigue is real and certainly prevalent in the wedding planning season. It can be easy to get overwhelmed and just go with whatever. But on those occasions, give yourselves a little distance from it before pulling the trigger. A day or two might help the stress dissipate and the best choice for you become clear. Especially when it comes to choices regarding budget and COVID-safety, a little extra time to distill the wisest course is a must.
3) Lean on your people
Friends and family will offer to help. Accept it. I don’t mean dump everything on others, but do siphon out small tasks that can be done quickly and easily. Planning a wedding is a huge undertaking for one person to do alone. It is amazing how accepting help with even the smallest of these can lighten the load. A highly contagious virus also introduces the possibility that there may be a week or two where you are down for the count when planning is at its height! Having friends and family in place to help with the small stuff will keep planning on track even when you’re not at 100%.
4) Less is More
A “guestbook” using postcards.
This is coming from a girl that had two wedding dresses and a handmade place card for each guest. It is important to know which factors you want to go all out for and which ones you can keep simple. Two cakes? Nah. Just one amazing one. Fancy getaway car? Nope. A friend drove us to our hotel in his mom’s min-van. Videographer? No. But we instead splurged on one of the best photographers in town. We prioritized what mattered to us and scrapped what didn’t. If the instability of this Covid Era has taught me anything, it is that showing those we love they are special to us is most important. So cut out the superfluous money-suckers you don’t care about and do what you can to throw a fun night with the best people.
5) Let it Go
Something will go wrong (like the coffee taking over an hour to brew.) People will not show up (with or without a viable reason.) Someone will say or do the wrong thing (which may tempt you to cry.) But we all need a little extra grace these days. Give grace to those around you as they will likely give it to you. At the end of the day, you will have celebrated with your crew and be married to the love of your life. Everything else, just let it go.
More wedding articles for the bride to be
