Keep Wedding Planning despite Coronavirus

Wedding planning in the time of Coronavirus is different. You are struggling with these questions. Will you be able to get married on your chosen date? Who will be able to attend your wedding? Those answers may not be available quite yet, but it doesn’t mean you cannot continue your wedding planning, knowing that there may need to be a Plan B or Plan C.  Most of us are stuck at home during this time. However, you can still work on your wedding!  You may not be able to have face to face meetings with your vendors at this time, but there are five things you can be doing to continue planning your wedding. 

1.      Pin your ideas and start organizing your Pinterest.  Most of the time, you are pinning and pinning without thought to the organization. Did you know you can create sections on your board to organize each detail?  So instead of “flowers,” create a section specifically for “bouquets or aisle décor” to narrow down each look.  Do this for every design element of the wedding. Then you can share just these sections with your planner and other relevant vendors.

2.      Keep having meetings with your vendors and embrace technology with your vendors. Most of my clients don’t live in Coeur d’Alene or the Inland Northwest, so I have been planning weddings virtually for a while. However, even if your vendors live in the same city as you, embrace video conferencing. Remember that Pinterest board! Many video conference apps allow you to share a screen (i.e., your Pinterest board) for all to see.  Video conferencing also is a great way to interact with your vendors and get to know them; emails can be impersonal, but seeing someone face to face (even virtually) is a great way to build a productive working relationship.  Since many vendors are also working from home or for those that always work for home can’t visit their local coffee shops, they will also welcome the personal interaction with their clients.

3.      Do all the things you typically put off until a few weeks before the wedding date.  As a wedding planner, I provide my clients with a checklist, and these items below are supposed to be completed in the last few months of planning but are delayed to the last minute but could be done anytime during the wedding planning process.  Discussing these items is also an excellent opportunity to sit down with your significant other (with the TV off) and review all these items.

 This includes

·        Writing your vows

·        Determining who will be giving speeches

·        Choosing your ceremony songs

·        Choosing your first dance, parent dance and cake cutting songs, also the last song of the evening as you always want something  memorable to close out the night

4.      Organize your items for the wedding.  Most people who have weddings have “stuff.” Items can include DIY centerpieces, toasting glasses, pictures of loved ones, favors, candles, etc. The list is endless. Organize these items in well-marked bins or boxes and put a note in each explaining the item and where it goes. If you have a wedding planner, they will be forever grateful as that day they have many tasks to do, and if they are setting up your décor, having clear direction in each box or bag makes their job so much easier. If you decided not to have a planner and are relying on friends and family to set up items, this too would make everything go much smoother. If you have not bought any items yet, please DON’T go out to the store or purchase put together a wish list of items and narrow it down to what décor you need.  Remember more is less, as your friends and family will remember the fun they had not necessarily your sign with an arrow that said “Reception.”

5.              Put together a Plan B and even a Plan C.  This one is not much fun but necessary right now.  If your wedding cannot happen because of government mandate, what is your plan?  If your wedding cannot occur because of friends and family not being able or willing to travel, what is your plan? These are questions you need to be asking yourself right now. If you are working with a planner, reach out to them for guidance.  I have had many conversations with my 2020 clients this past month, some very hard, and that is why they hired me so that I could be their advocate throughout the wedding planning process. Not just for the “fun” planning but also the difficult conversations. If you don’t have a  wedding planner, consider hiring one they can help you navigate the process should you need to postpone. In the meantime, put together a plan to talk to all of your vendors about the possibility of postponement. Find out what this means regarding deposits and their contracts. Don’t panic, discuss with your partner, immediate family, and your wedding party what your plans are for a contingency to make sure they are all board.

Wedding planning is stressful without the shadow of a Pandemic.  I hope these tips will still allow you to move forward with your wedding plans without getting overwhelmed.  We are booking Fall and Winter 2020, and Summer 2021 weddings now . If you have questions about rescheduling or postponing your wedding check out this blog with advice from Spokane WA and Coeur d’Alene ID wedding experts. If still have a few questions as you are planning among coronavirus concerns email me and I am happy to answer your questions or guide you to experts that can answer your question. We are all stronger together and soon we will all gather together to celebrate!