4 Ways to Keep Planning for Your 2020 Wedding
What a wild ride we’re all going through right now dealing with Covid-19. This thing has single handedly changed everything that we knew previously. It has basically slapped us all in the face and disrupted everything we were planning. Including vacations, visits with family, weddings, honeymoons, and even things just as simple as going to work. I sincerely hope that all of you are still able to at least have a job currently, I know it’s really taking a toll on small businesses, including mine. But here’s the thing: we have to keep going! I’ve had multiple weddings completely cancel all their plans, with no hope of ever having a wedding because of this. I think that’s the saddest possible outcome that you could have. You’ve been planning a wedding for over a year, you’ve lost a LOT of money in the process, why not postpone instead of cancel? And if you’re planning a wedding after May is over, here are a few ideas to encourage you to keep going:
Postpone a few months!
None of your guests are going to be upset with you if you move the wedding to a few months farther out. I promise that they will understand and they will feel safer to be at a gathering of a larger size when it's safer to do so. A lot of my couples that decided to cancel, did so because their venue didn't have any more desirable dates left for the year. But what about a wedding on a Thursday? What about a Sunday brunch wedding? Who cares if it's not a Saturday?! Your guests that love you will still come to your wedding if it's not on a Saturday. Hell, it's cheaper to fly out on a weekday and the hotels are cheaper, too. If you have to change any vendors due to availability, I bet you'll even get some discounts offered to you for a weekday wedding. Another thing I have to plead is that if you decide to postpone and move your wedding to 2021, please consider a Friday or a Sunday date, as to not take away from all the vendors who will then lose out on a popular Saturday date for 2021.
Move it outdoors!
Is your venue capable of hosting the whole event outdoors? Maybe you were planning an outdoor ceremony and then moving everyone inside for the reception. But why not rent a tent, throw up some twinkle lights, and have the receptions outside, too? It seems a lot safer to enjoy a wedding and get some more distance between everyone if they can wander outside the whole time. Thankfully we live in a town that has beautiful weather, and even if it's warm, it's better than everyone risking getting sick.
Cut the guest list!
I can't stress this one enough. I've heard of some brides wanting to continue their plans for a 250 person wedding in June and I'm just going to go ahead and make an educated guess that that will NOT be allowed by then. Honestly who knows the next time that a 250 person gathering will be okay. I don't think it will be in 2020. I understand wanting to host the event of the year, with all the people you want to be there, but it's just not in the cards this year. Wouldn't it be easier to just cut that guest list down and enjoy your wedding day with a more intimate vibe, and still be able to HAVE a wedding?! I've also had a few couples who are planning to do a 10-person-or-less wedding ceremony instead of their originally planned wedding day. I think that's also an excellent idea and it's just as meaningful.
Arrange a new seating chart!
You can do an outdoor standing-only ceremony instead of seated. It allows people to stand at safe distances without feeling pressured to be directly next to another person. I've also seen weddings with only about 10 chairs up front, all spaced out 6 feet apart, and the rest standing. Just another idea. And as for dinner seating, instead of grouping everyone by friendships, you can group them at tables by household. People who already live together and have quarantined together. Maybe that means there will be some tables of 2, some of 6, etc. That's okay - it doesn't have to be uniform - it just has to be safe.
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