Planning a wedding is often a stressful experience. Adding the effects of a global pandemic on top of it? Now it just feels downright impossible.
Brides, grooms, their wedding parties, and the entire wedding industry are facing new and unprecedented challenges in this time of global uncertainty. But what about couples who are newly engaged? How does the pandemic affect their planning process?
Although we cannot say what the wedding world (or world in general) will look like a year from now, that doesn’t mean you can’t get started planning your wedding for 2021. In fact, with all this extra time cooped up inside, this may be the most opportune time to work out many of the details. Check out these tips below to help you plan a wedding for next year while navigating the current COVID obstacles!
1) Figure out your budget.
Setting a budget is always the first logistical step of wedding planning. You won’t be able to decide your guest list, hire vendors, or set your date until you know what you can afford. While social distancing and quarantine efforts continue, you’re left with plenty of time to sit down with your partner and crunch some numbers.
Don’t forget to consider how the coronavirus may impact your personal finances or costs that factor into your wedding. Depending on how late in the year your wedding will be, you may want to budget for masks, sanitizer, and other pandemic event essentials.
2) Establish your vision.
Before you jump into making calls and reading online reviews in full force, take some time to pinpoint what styles and elements you want to see at your wedding. Create a vision board—via Pinterest, magazine cutouts, a photo album on your phone, or even just a good old-fashioned bullet list—with ideas that inspire you.
Peruse the Internet to look for flowers that catch your eye, colors you love, your dream wedding dress, themes you might like, and other details you want to incorporate. This will help you choose vendors who will be able to best bring these elements to life and help you and your team design the ceremony and reception you’ve always wanted.
3) Begin researching and vetting vendors.
Most of the preliminary research you’ll need to do to choose your vendors is done online anyway, so it’ll be easy to get started from home. Getting an early start on locking vendors down is a good idea, as many postponed weddings will be competing for their business next year. Get to know potential vendors virtually by reading testimonials, looking at photos of their work, taking 360 tours of venues, etc.
Once you’ve narrowed it down to a few top options, schedule virtual interviews to discuss your vision and see who would be the best fit. You’ll feel a lot less overwhelmed after you’ve put together a concrete team of experts who are eager to help and better equipped to navigate these unprecedented circumstances. Remember to read contracts very carefully before you make anything official. Ensure you understand their emergency policies, in the event of a postponement or last-minute cancellation or change.
4) Get a jump on the planning tasks you can work on from home.
You might be surprised to find how many aspects of your wedding you can finish planning at home with just your partner or wedding party. Since we can’t do much else right now, you might as well take advantage of the downtime. The more you get done now, the less stressed you’ll be as the date gets closer. Here are a few wedding details you can solidify from your own couch:
- Make a reception playlist
- Come up with a signature cocktail
- Brainstorm menu ideas
- Create your wedding website and registry
- Write your vows
- Make your guestlist (think small and flexible)
- Write thank you notes
At Casual Elegance, our goal has always been to help you plan and execute the wedding ceremony you’ve always dreamed of, and even a global pandemic doesn’t change that. With our years of experience and extensive industry connections, we can help you navigate this unique time, ease your anxieties, and organize the wedding you deserve.
Give us a call at 702-580-6589 today to start planning your 2021 marriage ceremony!
