Wedding Planning Steps You Can Take During COVID-19
For many brides, the wheels of wedding planning start turning as soon as he gets down on one knee. But, with the emergence of the COVID pandemic, no area of life has been left untouched. Planning your wedding around a pandemic can put a damper on your engagement excitement. Whether you decide to adjust your wedding day plans to make for a safer, smaller gathering, or delay your nuptials so that you can have a larger-scale wedding, don’t despair! There are plenty of steps that you can take now to keep the ball rolling on your wedding momentum. Channel your engagement excitement into these wedding planning steps:
Interview Wedding Planners
Many brides develop a sense of anxiety over the possibility of a hiccup in their wedding day plans. Investing in a wedding planner shares this burden so that you can relax and enjoy your day. Her primary focus is to ensure that every detail of your wedding gets ironed out. When things don’t look like they will go perfectly, she will gladly step in to make the adjustments that are needed. In addition, she could also serve as a great resource for planning your wedding during the pandemic. Her expertise and experience with handling curveballs will prove to be worth the investment.
Because she is such a valuable member of your wedding day, it’s critical that you find the right planner for you. Don’t be drawn in by the lowest price point. You want someone who understands your vision and works well with your personality. Even if you find it hard to find the words to describe your style, she will be able to communicate your taste to the appropriate vendors. In addition, it is important to find a planner who has extensive knowledge of traditions and the industry but respects your requests. Follow this guide on interviewing wedding planners to help find the right one.
Gather Ideas
Even if you don’t plan to nail down a date anytime soon, it’s not too early to gather mood materials for your wedding. Fabric and invitation samples, a music playlist, caterer menus, pictures, and snippets from bridal magazines…anything that grabs your attention. Gathering these materials helps to narrow down the vibe for your wedding…are you more drawn to soft and romantic, or exciting and energetic? What about the setting and decor? Do you prefer an outdoor rustic venue, or an indoor winter wonderland?
Don’t worry about narrowing anything down just yet. Your planner can help you sort through your mood materials to pull together the right elements for your wedding. You can use a bulletin board or accordion file to store physical items, while digital items can be organized onto secret Pinterest boards.
Make your Must-Have Lists
With every wedding, there is a list of non-negotiable details....things that the bride and groom absolutely must have for their big day. A specific cake, the first-dance song, special ceremony add-ins, personalized vows…If you’ve put any thought into your wedding at all, you likely have a starter list of non-negotiable details as well. Now is the time to take a good look into the elements that you must have for your big day.
How do you do this? Break it down by categories….with each segment of your wedding, write at the top of your list the elements that are must-haves. You will find as your planning falls into place that you are ok with letting some of these things go. For the items that remain, you can make sure every other detail falls around these must-haves.
Pull Together a Guest List
Regardless of when the wedding happens, you and your groom likely have an idea of who you want to be a part of it. By working on your guest list now, you can have a headcount and list of addresses established when the time comes for more detailed planning.
The guest list can generally be broken down into 2 categories: family and friends. Family members are easy enough to categorize, but the extent of family invitations depends on how large of a gathering you are planning. If you are opting for a smaller, more intimate gathering, you might not want to include your second cousin that you’ve only met once.
The friends category encompasses anyone that has been a significant part of your life and does not fall under the family umbrella. This may include close coworkers as well. With unmarried friends, you also want to be sure to include a plus-one invitation. Finally, if either set of parents are contributing to the wedding budget, you may want to include some of their close friends as well.
Even if you plan to wait out the pandemic, you can still enjoy your engagement by working out the elements of your wedding. Contact Event Hollow today to get connected with a wedding professional.