My #1 biggest tip for planning a wedding during a pandemic
If you’re planning your wedding right now, I see you, friend. Whether you’re planning your wedding for sometime in the remaining months of 2020, sometime in 2021, or beyond, I can only imagine how many things you’re thinking about.
If you are just starting to plan a wedding (congratulations, by the way!), the first things most couples pick are a venue and a date. Thinking through where you might choose to have your wedding and choosing a date might feel a little intimidating right now, especially not knowing what the course of COVID-19 will be in the upcoming weeks and months.
Maybe you've had plans in place for a while, but you're wondering if those plans will be able to come to fruition or if you'll need to adapt them. Or maybe already gone through three iterations of wedding plans, and you're once again reevaluating what your wedding day will look like.
As someone who works in the wedding industry, I've been having conversations with every one of my couples with upcoming weddings - and I see how hard it is to plan a wedding when there is this big element of uncertainty. This is not a normal time; there's an extra level of stress that most couples don't have to consider, and I'm so sorry that you have to navigate this.
In conversations with my couples, I've found one really similar theme that guides how they are making their decisions when it comes to planning a wedding during a pandemic, and I'd love to share this piece of guidance with you.
Prioritizing what matters most
What does your wedding mean to you? What are the most important parts of your wedding day? My advice is to sit down with your partner, and spend some time actively talking about the things that feel most important to you when it comes to your wedding.
You and your partner might have different priorities, and other people involved in the planning process (such as parents) might also have different priorities -- and that is totally normal! Have some open, intentional conversations about each of your individual priorities and how they can overlap - together, decide what your combined wedding-day priorities are. With these in mind, focusing on what matters most will help you have a wedding day that feels meaningful to you as a couple.
If your priority is being married… for some couples, being married at the end of their originally planned date is their main priority, even if some friends and family members may not be able to attend.
If your priority is gathering with your community… for other couples, gathering with their most cherished and beloved people is their top priority, even if that means potentially moving the date of their wedding, downsizing their wedding to limit the risk of germ exposure, or choosing a venue that feels a little extra safe (maybe an outdoor venue or a venue that is much bigger than needed to allow for social distancing).
If your priority is living out the wedding experience you envisioned… other couples may have always envisioned the beautiful details of their wedding day or really want a fun, festive, people-filled day, in which case moving the wedding date for when it’s safe for everyone to gather might be a good back-up plan to have.
All of these priorities are valid and understandable. By intentionally talking about and articulating your wedding priorities, you can use that as a lens as you make decisions or makeup plans - so even if you end up needing to use those back-up plans, you can feel confident that your wedding will still be lovely and meaningful to you as a couple.
Final thoughts
Having an event on any scale -- an informal potluck with a few friends, a date night with a partner, even meeting up at a park with a couple of family members -- requires so many extra layers of thought and caution right now. Any kind of large event has so many added challenges, logistics, and fears, and if you’re working through planning your wedding right now, my heart is really going out to you. Please feel welcome to email me with any questions you have related to planning a wedding during the pandemic (info@alyssalundphotography.com) and I’ll do my best to help! And if any of my clients are reading this -- know that I promise to work my tail off for you and make sure you have the very best wedding possible, COVID-19 or not. <3