When people question the amount of time and money spent on weddings, I usually respond with the concept that we really only remember two things - Celebration and Trauma. While we are living through this stressful time of the Covid-19 pandemic, I hope we can look to the future to create positive memories that include celebration. When we get through this together, we are going to want to celebrate together! The exact dates of that celebration may be still too soon to determine, but one thing we know is that we are going to value the time we will have together and will be looking forward to those events with a new perspective. I encourage you to be excited about your future wedding plans and continue to move forward on creating your dream wedding. Here’s some ideas on how you can continue to plan your wedding from home during the Covid-19 pandemic and create a great celebration, in the upcoming months and year.
Hire a Wedding Planner
If anytime shows the value of a wedding planner, it is now. Wedding Planners are advocates for you. No matter what stage you are in planning your wedding, the assistance of a wedding planner will make the process easier and provide reassurance that you have support and experience behind your decisions.
Day-of or Month-of-Coordination has become an accepted “must have” for couples, but those services do not extend to the current issues of postponing weddings and understanding and negotiating contracts in a crisis. Having an experienced advocate to help lead you through these types of difficult decisions is well worth the investment. You can research wedding planners online and set up calls to discuss services from the comfort of your own home. This is a great first step to creating a celebration to remember.
Venue searching while the venues are closed
Engagement season just ended and couples are ready to pick a date and select a venue for their wedding day, but due to Covid-19, the venues are closed to the public. This presents a challenge to couples, especially as 2020 couples are moving their dates to later in the year and 2021 dates may be taken by postponements.
My advice would be to do research on the venues online. Look at images of previous weddings both on their websites and tagged Instagram pictures, but also on Pinterest and Google images. Most venues still have representatives working remotely, so contact them about available dates and ask them for virtual tours, pictures, menus and event floor plans, so you can imagine your wedding at that venue. Ask how long the venue can hold a date and set up a tentative site tour for a month or two from now. To get the most popular venues for the most popular dates, you may have to make a decision prior to seeing it in-person, but ask if they can have a lower initial deposit and make sure you understand their cancellation terms, in case you change your mind.
Book Vendors Remotely
After selecting a wedding date, ceremony location and reception location, it’s time to look at Bands, DJ’s, Film and Photographers. Luckily, thanks to the internet, there are plenty of resources for you to research these vendors at home. Many of my clients do not meet in-person with these vendors, if they come with my recommendation, and will simply do a call or facetime appointment to get to know them. Do some research on quality vendors by checking out their reviews online and asking friends for recommendations. Then you can set up a phone call with the vendor to discuss their philosophies, packages and pricing. Many people around the world select their vendors this way, so the Covid-19 pandemic does not need to hold up your planning for the future.
Tastings, event design appointments and many creative elements to the wedding may have to be held off until in-person appointments are available, but you can do a lot of great research online to share with all these companies and expedite the planning process. We love Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram to share images and sound bites for what you are looking for. All your guests are at home and it’s a great time to get their addresses for invitations. Register for gifts online and connect it to your website. Order Save the Dates or type up your Invitation wording to submit to the designer. It’s a great time to research and plan your honeymoon. If you have a Wedding Planner, they can provide you a list of tasks that you can accomplish over the next few weeks and schedule calls to check in with them. They will provide you reassurance and keep you on track.
The most important thing to remember is that even if your date is postponed, it doesn’t mean that everything has to stop. You can still enjoy this process and with trusted vendors you can continue to stay on track. We are all standing together, while apart and celebration is in our future!
Megan Estrada
Owner & Principal Event Planner
North Shore Weddings & Events