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Has COVID threatened your wedding plans? Well you aren’t alone! Unfortunately, the reality of this terrible disease is that it doesn’t care who it’s coming after. Which is why I am here to help you navigate through how to get your wedding day back! COVID won’t win this one! So let’s get started!

1.) Communicate With Your Vendors

The fact of the matter is that we don’t truly know when COVID will pass and gathering regulations will be lifted. Which is why we need to start planning for worst case scenario. With that being said, NOW is the time to start communicating. If you are at the point where you know that you need to move your wedding, then start communicating. If you are still uncertain if you will need to postpone your wedding or not, then you need to start communicating.

So how do you do this? Start by downloading my free guide, COVID Wedding Day Survival Guide. In this guide, I have made a spreadsheet for you to fill out all of your vendors. Step one is to fill out this portion of the guide with all of your vendors, along with their contact information. Once you do this step, begin to reach out, starting with the vendors that you are most adamant about. For many, this is often their venue or their wedding photographer. Take some time to think about which ones are the most important, and reach out in this order.

When reaching out to each vendor, here are some questions to consider asking them:

1.) What back up dates do they have available?

2.) Do they charge extra fee’s to save these back-up dates?

3.) Do they have a contingency plan?

From here, narrow down the dates that all of your top vendors have available. Then check to see if they match with your other vendors or if you need new ones. If you need to look for new vendors, be sure to check if they have a cancellation fee. For your vendors that aren’t available for either your new date or your plan B, see if they can offer you some recommendations. Additionally, when looking for new vendors, be sure to look at their contracts. See what their flexibility is and what they offer as far as “change the date” situations.

2.) Inform Family & Guests of the Wedding Date Change

This next step helps to make things official! If you have decided to change your date, let everyone know! Consider making a video or even doing a fun photoshoot! Using those photos, or photos from your engagement session, you can send out “We Changed the Date” cards. Let everyone know that COVID isn’t taking this wedding down!

3.) Cutting Back the Size of Your Wedding

For those of you that don’t want to wait to marry your love, let’s talk about ways to make your wedding follow regulations while also being sentimental!

The first step here is to re-consider your wedding guest list. This is never easy or fun. We don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but the show must go on! Feel free to download my Cheatsheet for Making Your Wedding Guest List to help narrow your list down further!

Now that we have talked about the hard part, let’s talk on the brighter side! Having a small ceremony doesn’t mean that you can’t still celebrate with those that you love!

An option for this could mean having a separate reception with everyone after all of the regulations have cleared. With this I have even seen some people play a video of the ceremony at the reception that was recorded during the small intimate ceremony. This helps to let everyone still feel involved in the wedding day.

Another sentimental alternative if your bridal party has to be cut is to have each person in your bridal party write a short letter to have your officiant read out loud during your ceremony. This is a time to get creative! The options are endless! Talk with your fiance to see which way you guys want to go about this!

4.) Ordering Dresses (Bridesmaids + Wedding Dresses)

Many people are running into the issue of purchasing dresses when everything is shut down. Don’t worry, COVID does NOT mean that you have to get married without your dream dress! When considering wedding dresses, there are actually several reliable companies that allow you to try on dresses virtually. Some fantastic options include Grace + Ivory | Happy Isles | LOHO Bride | LEIN | Grace Loves Lace. Don’t worry though, we haven’t forgotten our bridesmaids! One of my favorite companies for ordering bridesmaids dresses is Dear Cleo. They even have dresses that you can try on in the style you select before officially purchasing the dress. As well as swatches of your selected color. It is time to say goodbye to the fear of ordering online! These companies are ready to support you in all of your style and fitting needs!

5.) Throw A Virtual Bachelorette Shower!

No need to let the fun die! Not only can you postpone your shower and have it after your wedding, BUT you can also have a virtual bachelorette party! Get the party started by sending out e-vites to your girls! Set up a group FaceTime or Zoom call and call it a party! Have people send their gifts ahead of time so you are able to open them over the video chat for everyone to see. Plan fun cocktails for you all to make paired with some games! You could even do a crazy dress code, like a wacky pajama party or your best hippy vibes. Create some activities for everyone to do, or even have a fun virtual spa night! Get creative and have fun! Even COVID can’t take this day away from you!

6.) Keep Planning!

I know having your plans pushed aside can take away the ultimate excitement to plan your wedding day. But I’m here to tell you, don’t let it! Keep that excitement level up, and keep planning! There are still so many things that you can plan. Some ideas are writing your vows, taking virtual tours of your venues online, picking out a wedding dress, making your music list, finding your vendors. The options are endless!

I hope that this blog has helped you in navigating around the sudden changes to your wedding day due to COVID. Feel free to download my free guide to help you organize and figure out this process. Happy planning!