What it's like planning a wedding amidst the COVID situation

Hey friends! It’s time to get real on the blog today. All of us have the same universal question lingering around in our heads – WHEN will this end?! It’s a question that unfortunately literally none of us have the answer to. For each and every one of us, COVID has been affecting us in some sort of way. Staying home for days on days, missing out on in person meet-ups, stressing, worrying, and getting anxious that our loved ones will be okay, getting creative & pivoting life events to ‘make it work’.

So how has it really been, planning a wedding amidst this COVID situation? I started planning my wedding in January, constantly thinking that wedding planning isn’t stressful at all! But for a huge planner like me, this situation has brought so much stress and anxiety on this planning process. I’ve tried over and over again to push past the ‘what if’s – but if I’m being honest, the constant worrying that I’m planning something that may not happen anytime soon has taken a toll on me.

I feel so so bad for the other bride-to-be’s who have already had to reschedule theirs, and maybe even will have to a second time. I know I’m not in that situation *yet* – and I am thankful my wedding is planned for the end of the year, but I can’t help but worry. I’m not sure how long it’s really going to take for everything to go back to “normal.”

For any other bride-to-be’s out there…all we can do right now is hope for the best. I’m doing everything I can to remain POSITIVE & HOPEFUL, and have been trying to be as proactive as possible. <3 There’s definitely a lot of elements that have been delayed (*cough* so late on my save the dates *cough*), but I’m trekking forward and booking all my vendors like it’s going to happen! Disclaimer: It’s also okay to feel sad. Deal with your wedding struggles the way you choose to deal with them – remember that there’s no right or wrong way!

Sharing some tips in how to best be proactive when planning a wedding during this unknown time:

Revisit your finances/budget. Make sure you // your spouse // your parents will still be in a good financial place for the budget that you set. There’s a lot of unknowns right now with so many layoffs, furloughs, etc. – so you don’t want to be in a sticky situation!
Draft up a ‘pandemic’ clause in all of your contracts. I can’t stress this enough! This is a must, and something I was only able to do after all this hit. *Hopefully* your vendors will be sensitive, understanding and accommodating if you have to reschedule.
Empathize and support your vendors. Remember that the wedding industry is getting hit hard during this time, and most vendors are small businesses themselves – so be sensitive from their POV too!
Keep your guests updated. Questions may be flowing in from every direction, so try to streamline everything in one channel to mitigate stress. I’ll be posting updates on my wedding website when any decisions are made.
Chat through all options // pivots needed with your fiance. These are big decisions that should be made together. Lean on each other for support during this time – CJ has been my rock whenever I’ve been upset during this time!
Lean on your bridal party for encouragement. They are here for you! That’s why you chose them to be a special part of your day 🙂
Take a deep breath. In the end, everything will be okay! We will all have our special day, whenever it may be 🙂
Save $$$ where you can by checking out affordable vendors. On that point, I really wanted to share with y’all an AMAZING small biz boutique that offers unique wedding dresses, accessories, jewelry + other bachelorette goodies: Aletta Bridal! Their mix & match wedding dresses are SO affordable, plus they are super unique and stunning. The owner is super sweet and cares so much about making your day perfect. My bride-to-be jacket is from Aletta Bridal too 🙂 Contact Aletta for a bridal consultation HERE.

P.S. Aletta Bridal is running a giveaway right now until the end of April, with the chance to win a $50 gift voucher for Aletta Bridal. Steps are below: