The Three Options for Planning a Wedding During a Pandemic
Just starting your wedding planning and found yourself in a pandemic?
Sadly, in most of the country, weddings for spring and summer of 2020 had to be cancelled. This doesn’t mean your special day won’t happen, it just means it might be different than you imagined it. Whether you were just engaged during quarantine, had your original date cancelled or have been waiting to plan your wedding and then COVID-19 hit, we put together the three primary options couples today have to start planning for the wedding they want.
Virtual Wedding
Photo Credit: Two Adventurous Souls
Too in love to wait any longer? Still want to have everyone you care about together when you say “I do”? The idea of a virtual wedding is to get the people you want together safely (remotely) and share your commitment to your partner with them. Whether it’s personal vows or just sharing in the emotion of the moment - a Zoom or Google Meet wedding allows everyone a chance to safely be there in 2020. With Zoom or Google Meet you can invite everyone on your guest list and even have a few members join in person at a safe distance! To make it even more fun you can even have some bubbly delivered to your friends on screen via companies like Drizly or have a cake shipped with Goldbelly.
You might be asking yourself, is it even legal to get married via video chat? The answer is, yes! As long as you have someone officiate and bare witness you can get married from the safety of your home. So go ahead and send out an updated save-the-date with an attached link to your virtual wedding!
Micro Wedding
Micro weddings are going to be the 2020 version of safely getting that in person wedding experience you wanted. They have all the food, drinks, dancing, music and amazing venue you want. You customize a space to tell your story and have pictures and video to remember it forever. The only thing they might not have, is all the guests you originally wanted. Micro weddings are based off a considerably smaller guest count, usually below 50 people and thereby enable couples and guests to safely keep a distance from one another and can therefore happen this summer or fall even.
One of the best perks of a micro wedding is all the money you will save from food to tables to flatware. With a smaller guest list comes the option to splurge on things you might not have otherwise. So you can go for those large floral arrangements or extravagant centerpieces!
Check out some of our Weven venues who are offering micro wedding packages!
Plan your wedding for 2021 (or even 2022!)
Photo Credits: Arielle Doneson Photography
As people say, some things are worth the wait. So why rush your special day? By delaying your wedding, you have the best chance at creating the wedding of your dreams. While no one knows what the safety protocols will ultimately be for the 2021 wedding season, most everyone agrees it is much more likely to be closer to “normal” again. Ultimately, the most popular choice for couples has been to wait a year (or even two) and plan for the wedding they originally dreamed of.
There are still some risks to waiting. When you combine the trend of 2020 weddings being rebooked to 2021 with all the couples who had already been planning 2021 weddings pre-pandemic, this means 2021 dates are at a premium. Additionally, with so many weddings being pushed into 2021 it might mean fewer choices for your favorite vendors? That could mean less range of styles and prices available. Maybe most importantly, a 2021 summer of packed weddings means your friends may already be booked. If you have key guests or vendors you would never want to get married without, check with them first on dates as their 2021 summers are probably pretty full.
If you really want to have your pick of vendors and get the maximum number of your priority guests to attend, consider holding off another year until 2022. The wedding season of 2022 will be even more “normal” than 2021 and you will not have to compete with so many other couples for the limited dates in 2021 or do a weekday wedding. You will also get your pick of vendors, and booking this far in advance you can even get better pricing by getting ahead of the demand putting down a little bit of money on your ideal venue and vendors now.
So don’t view postponing your wedding as, shall we say a glass of champagne half empty, but try seeing it with a glass half full! No matter what, your special day will come. And with this extra time you can make sure you get every detail just the way you want it for the wedding of your dreams.
Best type of venues for a micro wedding or 2021 wedding?
Whether it’s a micro wedding in 2020 or a full scale wedding in 2021, couples are looking for outdoor, open-air wedding venues more than ever. Outdoor venues with open-air receptions and ceremonies can increase guest and staff ability to properly socially distance. Outdoor wedding venues may also allow your guests the most comfort and least stress as they can more easily avoid crowds on the dance floor or during cocktail hours. The CDC has already stated that outdoor spaces are safer for guests than indoor spaces.
Outdoor wedding venues were already trending up in popularity as people today spend so much time indoors in offices and in the city. Guests love when couples can bring them outside to enjoy the open-air and escape from their day-to-day routines.
Check out some of our favorite venues with availability in 2021 below!
Oak Hill Christmas Tree Farm: This stunning wedding venue is situated on 41 acres of farmland and woods, surrounded by a seasonal array of flowers in Harvard, Massachusetts.
Tuckaway Tree Farm: Within an hour of Portland, Tuckaway Tree Farm rests atop 35 acres of pristine farmland, offering the perfect scenic backdrop and lush greenery for your special event.
The Topstone Chalet: Just an hour and a half from New York City, rests this small private estate, perfect for an intimate wedding weekend, boasting a historic outdoor fire-pit, blossoming flowers, and a beautiful carriage house for use on your special day.
