Planning a wedding always has the potential to be a little stressful, but planning a wedding during a pandemic…that’s next level! I feel so much for all the 2020 brides out there that have had a giant wrench thrown into their plans, but I also want to come your way with some encouragement…
First off (and most importantly) remember to breathe, and focus on what’s really important….marrying the love of your life. At the end of the day that’s all that really matters. If you are committed to getting married and starting your life together it is going to happen. Pandemic or not. And while it may not be how you imagined, it will still be beautiful, and meaningful…whether it is the full blown wedding you planned months from now, or a small intimate elopement (with or without your big celebration coming later down the line). At the end of the day the most important thing is your commitment to one another and your willingness to fight for your marriage. So focus on your spouse-to-be, and use this time to strengthen your relationship.
That being said, just because we are stuck at home doesn’t mean there aren’t ways you can still further your wedding plans! Here is a list of 9 ways you can pass the time and be one step closer to the wedding of your dreams- even during quarantine!
1. Search For Vendors
If you are more than a few months out from your wedding you may not have secured all your vendors yet. While most vendors are not currently able to work outside the home due to stay at home orders, almost all of us are still talking calls/emails, booking clients, and doing as much behind the scenes work as possible. Now, with extra time on your hands, it is the perfect time to research potential vendors and reach out to your favorites for quotes!
2. Create Mood Boards
If you are in the beginning stages of planning a wedding this is the perfect time to utilize pinterest to help define your aesthetic and create mood boards. Having a well thought out, organized mood board will have you ready to jump into action the moment you receive the go ahead.
3. Put Together Your Registry
Use some of this extra time with your spouse-to-be to set down and put together your wedding registry. Sites like https://zola.com Are great for this as they will let you add products from virtually anywhere online into one easy to use registry. They also offer free wedding websites!
4. Create Your Wedding Day Timeline
I am a HUGE advocate for having a really well thought out timeline. From a photography perspective this is one of the most important technical aspects there are. If you are working with a planner they will help with this! If not check out this blog post for more inspiration!
I personally love working with my couples or their planners to ensure we have the perfect timeline in place for a stress free, photography friendly wedding day. This allows me to make sure you get all those dreamy images you’ve been hoping for 😉
5. Compile Music Playlists
What better time find the perfect songs for your big day. What songs will you play for the ceremony, or when you’re coming down the aisle? Are you going to hire a DJ? Make a list of special requests (or maybe more importantly a “do not play list”. Decide on songs for the first dance, father daughter dance, mother son dance, etc.
If you are going to DIY your reception music this is a great time to make a big list of all your favorite party music!
Bonus tip: It can also be really fun to create playlists for other parts of the day- such as getting ready. If you are a big time music lover it’s a great idea to have a little bluetooth speaker playing some of your favorite tunes to calm wedding day nerves and get you in the mood for a joyful day!
6. Write Your Vows
The most important part of your day is, well, getting married. Marriage is a commitment made to each other and to God, and it really isn’t something to be taking lightly. You are vowing to stay true to each other no matter what life brings, or doesn’t bring. It is beautiful, it is wonderful, but it is also really hard. With that in mind many couples like to write a special list of vows to each other on their wedding days. Promises they strive to keep in their marriage. Now is the perfect time to stop, reflect, pray, and write those vows.
Find some nice stationary or a vow book from amazon or etsy (these are super cute and can be customized to your wedding colors) if you want to keep them as a memento.
This is also a really great time to work on hand written letters for the wedding day, or special keepsake memory books.
7. Shop Online (or diy) Wedding Day Gifts
Are you planning to exchange gifts on your wedding day (or want to surprise your spouse with one)? Now is the perfect time to shop online and find that perfect something. Or use this extra time to make something from scratch! This goes for wedding party or parent gifts as well!
Bonus Tip: Let your planner, photographer, and videographer know if you plan to exchange gifts on your wedding day so they make sure to allot extra time and capture those precious memories!
8. Address All Those Wedding Invites
If there was one thing that took a tremendous amount of time and effort when planning my own wedding it was hand addressing hundreds of invitations. Even with the help of two of my sister-in-laws it took us a full day. Now is a great time to track down addresses, and work on addressing envelopes while you binge watch your favorite TV shows!
Bonus Tip: Include a blank envelope with your invitation suite with a small print out instructing your guests to put their address on it and send it back with their RSVP. Then when the time comes to send out thank you cards all your envelopes will be addressed! So wish I had thought of that for our wedding 😛
9. Virtual Pre-Marital Counseling
Once again if you have extra time to spend with your spouse to be during this time use it wisely! This period could potentially garner so much growth in your relationship and set you up for an even strong future! Many pastors and counselors are offering pre-marital counseling via facetime or zoom! So even if you are physically apart from your fiance during this time you can still take an opportunity for growth and preparation for your marriage!
Bonus: Seating Charts
I have noticed a growing trend of open seating at weddings in recent years, but if you plan to go the traditional route and plan seats for the ceremony and reception now is the perfect time! Seat charting can be a pretty massive task so break out the poster boards and get after it! (Or if you want to bring it into the 21st century you can check out online planning tools like this one offered by wedding wire)
16 Comments
Great tips! Addressing envelopes is a great idea — so time-consuming!
Yes! Not the most glamorous part of wedding planning, but it’s definitely a good time killer!
These are great tips and I love that they can all be done at home and give people something to do that’s still productive!
Thank you Stormy 🙂
Very helpful tips for right now!
Thank you Mattea!
Great tips! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
This is very helpful! Love this!
Glad it was helpful Sunny! Thanks so much 🙂
Love this! Knocking things off the ‘to-do’ list is a great way to use quarantine downtime!
Absolutely! So many ways we can stay productive!
This is SO HELPFUL and really helps sort of channel nervous/anxious energy into something productive that will save you stress later down the line and help the wedding day when it does get to happen run SO SMOOTH. Great list, keep this up! 🙂
YES! For sure. Thanks so much Stacie 🙂
These are very helpful tips.
Thank you Lydia!