Welp. As if wedding planning wasn't stressful enough, let's add a GLOBAL PANDEMIC shall we?
To all my Corona Brides (CBs) out there, I'm sorry, and I'm right there with you. As I type this from my Quarantine Bunker, I SHOULD be on a flight to Cabo headed towards my Bachelorette this weekend. I have been counting down for MONTHS. I should be poolside sipping on a margarita today and instead, I am in the pajamas I've been wearing since Saturday. These are dark times.
To my other CB's out there, first things first I just want to validate your feelings. It's ok to be sad. It's ok to be heartbroken. In the grand scheme of things, postponing wedding festivities right now is a small problem to have. It might feel weird to even complain about it at a time like this. But this is a safe space, and it's ok to let it out. Here I'll start:
THIS FUCKING SUCKS
Ok. Now that that is out of the way, it's time to try to control what you can control. Here are a few things that have helped me:
1. Know your options. If you have to postpone your festivities, it helps to know what that looks like. Call your wedding planner. Email your venues and ask them the contingency plan. If they have open dates in the future start making lists of those potential new dates now. It's weird, but as soon as I realized I was going to have to cancel my bachelorette, I spoke to the property owner of the house we were supposed to stay and immediately felt a lot better. Knowing that there are other options really does help.
2. Make the call. When you know your options, its time to make some decisions. Consider this the "ripping of the bandaid" stage. Now I know it is easier said than done. For my bachelorette, the border closings made my decision for me. But for my wedding, I am a July Bride so things are still very much in the air. Looking at the problem, I like to know my options and make a pro/con list:
Option 1: Keep the wedding date as is and accept that it might not be the same wedding I had envisioned. Many guests may not be able to come (but hey! Maybe that is a cost savings?)
Option 2: Postpone the wedding and pick a new date. This is probably the safest option, however It puts all of our other life plans on hold. We may lose some of our vendor deposits, and oh yea, my dress is a SUMMER wedding dress. BUT it ensures our guests are safe which is WAY more important than anything I just mentioned.
Option 3: Wait it out until we have more information. Things have been changing rapidly and if you have some extra time to wait and see how things fall, it might be a good idea to do so. Since my wedding is scheduled for July, I think we are going to wait until May to make any decisions. However, we're going to look into back up dates with our venue/vendors just to be safe.
3. Take action. Once you make the call, it's time to notify your guests. I love this Minted Article that offers email templates on what to send your guests. Just copy and paste. You have enough on your plate sis.
Someone asked me about invites - do you need to send updated invites? So honestly, I think email is ok for this one. EVERYONE would understand, and it will save you some $$ to not have to reprint/mail out something formal. However, if you REALLY want to, I would recommend an affordable option like Minted.
Another hot tip: If you are planning your wedding on your own and the idea of starting over is completely overwhelming (honestly, I don't think I could do it again) look into someone helping you. In another blog post I talked about Flutter Social which is an affordable, virtual wedding planning service who may be able to take a LOT off your shoulders. (My Flutter Social planner now doubles as my part-time therapist) I have a 50% off discount code too which might help with the financial sting. (See this post)
4. Treat yo'self. In lieu of my trip to Mexico, I will be drinking a margarita and eating queso at home. Do something that makes you happy during this difficult time.
Are you a Corona Bride? Have any tips you wanna share? Leave em in comments. Corona Brides stick together.
Sending you all love,
SM
Thank you for posting this! I am not getting married until the first week in September. However, our concern now is that our guests could potentially be out of work. We are getting married in Portugal and have people planning to travel for the event. If our guest start to lose their jobs this could mean key people might miss our wedding due to lack of funds. My fiancé is a pilot, he is currently still flying…and I work in the hospitality industry… we are both still able to work for now, but of course if things change this could also limit our ability to fund the remainder of our wedding. We canceled our wedding bands for now, so we could hold onto those funds for now just Incase we end up without pay for a bit. But to all the other brides- yell, scream, swear, punch a pillow, cry, pout! Feel all those awful feelings! Just don’t take them out on your fiancé, he/she might not show his/her feelings as much as you but trust me, she/he feels it! Be kind to your person! This has to end at some point!
YES. this is exactly what I needed. Such a stressful time right now. Our wedding is scheduled for May 23 and i’m trying to keep waiting it out in hopes of not postponing. I can’t bear the though of not having the big wedding i’ve always dreamed of with all my family and friends. Also, the invitation thing has been so stressful for if we reschedule. Been using the “treat yo self” tip a whole lot lately! Best of luck to you!
Helpful knowing you are a July bride as well. We decided to wait till May as well to make a decision. My family and friends seem to think it’s going to be okay. Fingers crossed for us.
CB here! Thanks for the post. As much as this time sucks, there’s comfort knowing that none of us are alone in this. My wedding is scheduled for 6/20 and I’m praying for the best!