Wedding Planning During Lockdown

We're all hoping lockdown is at least partially lifted soon. It's not been easy and although some have taken time to reflect and sort out their houses, which may not have been done otherwise, we're all obviously missing spending quality time with friends and family and hoping this will be sooner than later.

If you got engaged shortly before the virus or even a while before, then now will have been a great time to do some of the planning. Whilst you can't go and visit venues or look at dresses, there's a lot that can be done online. One of the most useful things is that you may have more time to actually make a definite plan which can be executed after lockdown. More to the point, it's something positive and essentially, something to look forward to, like a great holiday or any kind of upcoming celebration. It makes complete sense to have something to look forward to, whilst also accepting that the safest thing to do is stay in and stay safe. We don't always need the government to keep reminding us to protect the NHS. For more of us who are extremely grateful to these incredibly brave workers, we will anyway make our effort to stay safe and therefore reduce the potential number of hospital admissions.

So what can be done from home? Even without going online, lists can be made. There are lots of free checklists for wedding planning, and some brides and grooms prefer to make their own. With a lot of discussion and a bit of logistical thinking, it soon becomes obvious what needs to be done and when. With possibly more time than usual, it's then a nice indulgence to really browse online at various suppliers, venue websites, and planning sites, like Hitched, Confetti and One Fine Day amongst many others (we love Hitched as we've met many of the team and they love what they do and do it properly!).

In order not to be overwhelmed, break things down into categories (Venue, possible date or even just season initially, photographer, entertainment, dress, hair and make up, catering etc.). Then you can flexibly make a list of priorities to work through (venue is a great starting point). Don't put too much pressure on yourselves to make final decisions, but shortlists are excellent for focusing the mind. Remember that although many suppliers can't do their actual jobs at the moment, they're still very much open for enquiries and actually are likely to be able to give your questions a bit more time and consideration than they usually would be able to, due to the total lack of events right now. So now is an excellent time to start asking them about costs, your vision, what they can do for you and so on. Doing this with a few suppliers can really help narrow the short list down and give you more of a sense of the direction you wish to go in.

Also, in this difficult time, it's great to be creative. So now is a good time to let your imagination run riot in terms of the planning. Have fun coming up with ideas that you know will make the day more fun. Table settings are a chance to express your personalities and taste. We played at a wedding for a couple of huge tennis fans and each table had a unique tennis theme, which was distinctive and original. Simple touches like this personalise the day more and even if you enlist the help of suppliers with this, it's your idea and your vision. The same can apply to all aspects of the wedding, right up to choosing the songs in the ceremony and writing your own personal vows.

If you're really confident about what you want, you might even completely plan the wedding online during the lockdown and then save yourself too much juggling later on. Making definite decisions (and booking at least some of the suppliers) will bring a few benefits. Not least of these is that you may get some discounted costs for next year as suppliers need to keep getting bookings and they're not getting any last minute ones at the moment. As long as you're a bit flexible since it's unlikely everything will be fully planned without visits and meetings later on, then you'll be satisfied that you didn't waste valuable planning time during the lockdown. You can still relax and catch up on boxsets. Planning a wedding is not all-consuming. Small efforts made on most days will quickly add up and it's a great feeling, knowing that everything is coming together.

We're very much open for business, so if you feel like a chat or email exchange, get in touch today.