FRIDAY FIVES

5 Tips to Planning your wedding/ event around COVID19

I am starting a new blog series called Friday Fives. It will be short + sweet information based on a variety of topics. I am focusing my first blog in this series on Coronavirus wedding planning. Over half of my 2020 couples have been affected by Coronavirus so far and have had to reschedule their wedding. Planning your wedding during this time can be scary + uncertain, but here are 5 topics to help you make your decisions for your wedding.

1. Should you get married sooner or later?

   You just got engaged! YAY! Now what? You start planning and pinning everything on Pinterest. On average couples plan their wedding for about a year, give or take a couple of months. Given the world’s current environment, think about an extended engagement and pushing your date to 2022. who knows how this will turn out by the end of this year or next. Planning your wedding for 2022 will give you plenty of time to make informed decisions about your wedding + more cake tastings, YUM

   Still looking for a wedding cake, check out these Queer Wedding vendors of the valley blog.

2. Your Wedding, your way.. right?

   Maybe not so much. When my wife + I were planning our wedding, we truly cared about our closest family + friends being there in person to witness our marriage. Think about your VIP guest list, the most important people who you want to be at your wedding. This could be your grandma, cousin, uncle, wedding party or your 3rd-grade art teacher. Are they at a greater risk for Coronavirus? Do any of them have chronic conditions or are considered a part of the older generation? If they are, think about doing a smaller wedding or elopement to reduce the risk of transmission. Contrary you can also release the pressure off of them from attending. As much as you want them to be there on your day, is it worth risking their health? You can maintain their health + safety by setting up a livestream of your ceremony so guests watch your wedding from the comfort of their home.

3. Check your wedding vendors contracts

   AND ask them their policies during your consultation! before signing any contracts with your wedding vendors, look over their cancellation + reschedule process ( i mean you should be doing this anyways, but given our current situation, a good reminder). You want to make sure that you understand what you are signing. If you need to reschedule, will you forfeit all monies paid? will the vendor provide you with credit? how soon do you need to notify them before rescheduling/ canceling? If your wedding vendor cannot/does not thoroughly answer your questions in a timely manner, run the other direction.

4. Prepare for flexibility in wedding planning

   We just never know what the world will throw at us. As you have had to be flexible in the last few months with adjusting to a new normal of life, you will want to maintain that mindset for wedding planning. as many small businesses are barely hanging on, talk to your wedding vendors early on and ask them openly about their sustainability in their business. the last thing you want to do is a book a vendor 2 years away from your date and they cannot weather the financial storms. (this is one reason I am thankful for my second job that provides me sustainable income during this time, I’m not going anywhere )

5. invest in a wedding bestie a.k.a.- a wedding planner

   Want someone to contact all your vendors for you to talk about new reschedule dates, Help review the vendor contracts with you? Help you stay on track to planning your wedding in the most efficient order? I highly recommend finding yourself a wedding planner if you know exactly what you want for your wedding but need some direction as to logistics, timeline + communication.

Feeling overwhelmed?