COVID BRIDES: How-To Navigate Your 2020 Wedding

COVID-19. The big wedding wrecking elephant in the room, that everyone is tired of talking about. This heavy, stressful, lingering topic has been crushing dreams and taking the spotlight away from our 2020 couples planning to make it official this year. If you are nodding your head at that statement, in a “preaching to the choir girl” manner then this next part is for you.

Take a deep breath in…. and let it out. (feel free to repeat a few times before reading on)

We have been working with our 2020 spring and summer brides extensively for the last few months to get a plan in place for what to do amid this pandemic with their wedding plans and what next steps look like.

If you are a Michigan bride, this next week will most likely feel like the longest week in quarantine (which is saying something) as we await the updated Executive Order from our Governor to see what the new Mass Gathering Order will be and what the reopening of our state looks like. This combined with the Federal government plans for the phased approach are going to be what will determine if backup plans go into effect for most brides.

To make sure that you are prepared for worst case, here is our COVID Bride Guide to how to handle postponing or adjusting your wedding plans this year.

1. LOOK FOR A WINE CLUB.

I love my membership at Cooper’s Hawk (still doing pickup/delivery) but there a lots of clubs that deliver straight to your door or local breweries and distilleries that are supporting the community like the champs they are that you can do curbside pick-up, delivery and online ordering. This should help you with the rest of the steps below.

2. DECIDE IF 2020 IS YOUR YEAR.

Talk to your fiancé and your family and make the hard decision if 2020 is still going to be your year. Even IF restrictions are lifted on mass gatherings, it will not be back to normal. There will still be risk to hosting a wedding, reductions to guest lists, and family members (high risk and elderly) that will need to be asked not to attend for their safety.

If that is not how you pictured your day and making compromises is just not what you envisioned, postponing your day might be the best option.

If altering your plans to a more intimate wedding is something that works for you, that may be a good option in replace of a large event. Or hosting an intimate ceremony with a postponed reception at a later date.

3. CALL YOUR VENUE.

Reach out to your venue to see how they are handling weddings with the COVID restrictions. Ask about their policy for rescheduling and what dates are available. Make sure you find out the details on when you would need to lock or reserve a backup date. AND read your contract.

If deciding to reschedule to a new date, you should keep in mind if you are trying for another 2020 date you will need to push out to late summer early fall. Most Saturday’s are going to be booked already so you will need to keep an open mind to Friday’s, Sunday’s and Monday’s.

I would also note that the CDC is reporting that they are expecting a resurgence of the virus in the USA this fall. This may have you leaning for a 2021 date.

To help with the selection of a new date, here is reference guide on dates from TheKnot.

4. KEY VENDORS.

Contact your vendors. Find out what their policies are for rescheduling and what their availability looks like for 2020 dates, and 2021 dates. You took time, and careful consideration into choosing what vendors you wanted to partner with for your wedding. AND they WANT to be a part of your day. Make sure if it’s possible to keep your team of vendors for your new date that you involve them before making date change decisions.

5. CREATE A COMMUNICATION PLAN.

Make sure you keep your wedding party, guests and family in the know. This should be multi-level and USE the resources available to you to take the stress off of you.

You have a wedding party, use em’! It’s okay to ask for help. You have a lot on your plate, and you picked your tribe because you knew they’d support you through the process of planning. They will want to be there for you anyway they can.

Some suggestions would be updating your wedding website with the details, posting on social media, starting a phone tree. Depending on the time frame of when your original wedding date is sending out a “Change the Date” is a good idea, and direct guests to your wedding website for the most up to date information.

6. GRIEVE.

Allow yourself some time to grieve. You have been working hard and looking forward to this day for a long time. It is okay to be sad or angry, it’s not fair. Your plan changed, and that’s hard. We know it’s not just the wedding, it’s the life you had planned after too. It’s okay to take some time to grieve the delay of that. Don’t be too hard on yourself. You WILL still be getting married.

7. CELEBRATE ANYWAY.

Make a plan with your partner to celebrate that your original date anyway. It could be simple with champagne and cake or with a small ceremony with family and friends. Or you could hit the jackpot and win the Busch Beer Contest and have your own party!

This is a difficult time to manage and if you need any help figuring out where to go from here, are looking for advice or just need someone to talk to reach out to us at Wildflower Event House. We are here for all our brides during this difficult time and want to do our best to make this as smooth as possible of a transition.