Here at Wedding Collective headquarters (aka our little townhome-turned-office), we’re celebrating. Why you might ask? The simple answer is this: we’ve survived the year and are so happy that love conquers all. It’s no secret that this year has been challenging for everyone. Couples from all around the world have been encouraged to find unconventional ways of celebrating their love, and if we’re being honest, some of the most magical + breathtaking weddings we’ve ever seen have been the result.
For many of our local couples, planning a wedding during a pandemic brought an abundance of emotions with it, ranging from fear to excitement, and everything in between. The entire wedding community has felt the same way and we can assure you that you’re not alone. If there’s one thing that our local couple’s asked us the most, it’s this: what can I do right now to ensure that I can still have my perfect wedding?
That’s where we come in! We’ve always wanted to be wedding planning superheroes, but we can certainly settle for virtual wedding planning mentors — since we can’t fly and don’t have capes… yet.
Here are three different ways that you can actively start planning your wedding during this time without the fear of canceling or missing out on your ideal wedding:
1. Download + use printable worksheets
Initially, you should visualize your wedding. List, scribble, write, and draw out the plans for your big day like there’s no tomorrow! When we work through any event for Wedding Collective, we take our visions to the drawing board (and our Creative Director, Jenna) to see what works and what doesn’t. This helps us go big at first and then slowly break it down to what is practical, yet perfect, for us.
Planning your wedding works the same way! Start with a big idea and then gradually break it down to the essentials. A planning worksheet is the best place to start because it’ll be the framework that you’ll base your entire wedding planning process on. Don’t forget to be creative!
You can download any of our FREE downloadable planning worksheets + PDFs here.
2. Reach out to your favorite local vendors
It’s never too early to start having great conversations with local vendors. In fact, these wedding experts are waiting for inspired couples just like you to ask all of the important questions + make great connections. It’s always a good idea to create a list of questions for your vendors and leave room for notes so you can weigh your options at decision time. As we said, we LOVE lists!
Talking to vendors early also gives you priority, especially when there are so many couples planning their weddings for 2021 and 2022. The sooner you start asking questions, making connections and put down a deposit, the more freedom + less stress you’ll have later on.
Reaching out to local vendors is easy on our website! Simply head to our vendor list and connect with your faves here.
3. Plan with flexibility
This is certainly a new tip that we’ve found to be super helpful throughout this year. Plan your wedding, but remember to be flexible. As we have learned in 2020, everything can change in an instant, so we have to have backup plans in place. When it comes to your wedding, this couldn’t be more important.
Although we have high hopes for the next few years, there’s always the possibility of closures + quarantines. Think about this while planning and ask yourself: does my wedding plan give me room for flexibility? It is important that you’re able to find an alternative to your original plans without losing out on all of your money + compromising your sanity. By creating two wedding plans, you’ll make sure that you can still say your “I Dos” despite everything else.
Micro-weddings are a perfect backup plan. You can read about this great alternative to regular weddings here.
We hope you found some comfort in knowing that wedding planning can be fun, even in uncertain times. Embrace change + all else will fall into place! We hear you and we are here for you.
Love, the Wedding Collective Team
Header image by Cassie Scott Captures
2 Comments
Those are really good ideas to plan a wedding! I agree that micro-weddings could be a great alternative to regular weddings. It is easier to focus on the little elements that are close to your heart instead of getting overwhelmed by too many guests. They have become the ideal choice of couple owing to the pandemic.
Couldn’t agree more, thank you so much for the sweet support and comment.