so. we’ve been in this pandemic for a year now. I miss the early days when we were all like “it’ll be over by summer!'“ and then “it’ll be over by christmas!” and now…we just kind of see what happens on a daily basis.

having been an invited guest to a few 2020 weddings that have since been postponed, and also simply as a person who had access to social media in 2020 - i’ve seen a lot of postponements, change-the-dates, zoom weddings, and minimonies.

but if you’d told me back in march 2020, that in march 2021 i’d be planning my late 2022 wedding and STILL not be entirely sure of how it’s going to look, COVID-wise, I don’t think I would’ve believed you.

we’re in our 3rd month of engagement, and I’m so happy to say that the date, venue, and photographer are set. those were our big 3 things that we wanted to have done quickly - mainly because of something I touched on in the first weddingplanningwednesday post - we’re fighting postponed couples for dates and vendors! but now that our big 3 are secured, we’re taking a biiiiit of a planning cooldown until summer - not stopping altogether, because as you’ll see later, there’s always something to do - but we’re in a position to relax for a spell.

all the power to anyone who has had to postpone/reschedule a wedding. it’s no easy feat at all, and I can’t imagine the toll it takes!

here’s how we’re handling our planning:

1. multiple guest lists

   it’s hard enough to make a guest list. I didn’t think it was this tough, but obviously, a pandemic has made it even more complex.

   we both have big families, lots of family friends, and just generally a lot of people who are very important to us! when we were dating and began to have conversations about what our wedding would look like, we both knew it’d have to be on the larger side.

   we have our “dream” number set. our guest list ‘A’ if you will. this is our big list - our “if things are ‘normal’ and we can have everyone” list. it’s the number we gave to our venue, and what we’re working with until we’re told otherwise - it’s the best case scenario.

   then we have our second list - the “if we have a 100/150 guest mandate.” and most dramatically, our last list: between 20-50 guests, at which point it’s just our immediate families, and a whole lot of facetime and zoom calls.

   and the truth is - even with our first list, and even if things are totally “normal” by our 2022 date - people may not be comfortable gathering in a large group!

2. “COVID clauses”

   any contract we’ve signed, or will sign in the future, has to have a “COVID clause.” basically, a statement from the vendor saying that in the event of mandates or anything COVID/pandemic related that’s beyond our control - we either get all of our money back, or we reschedule for no additional fee. i’ve read too many horror stories about vendors not giving money back after needing to reschedule a wedding for COVID-related reasons, and I certainly wanted be sure we were covered in that area.

   bringing it back to the first point - the clause (for the venue) is also inclusive of any need to change the head count amount per a government mandate, and having the price reflected accordingly.

3. task checklist

   when planning a wedding, there’s something to do. even if it’s just making a vision board for invitations, or getting ideas for flower arrangements - there’s literally always something to occupy your time. so now that the big things are out of the way, i’ve been looking at smaller, more detailed things that I may have once overlooked, or want to flush out a little further. i’m really type-A, so it helps me feel less like a sitting duck that’s drifting into the unknown. with things being so uncertain (though I am cautiously optimistic for our date, knock on wood), it’s nice to occupy my mind with other tasks.

4. staying on top of the rules

   though our save the dates and formal invites won’t be sent out for A WHILE, one thing we’ve had to think about is including “health & safety” cards in the suite. like a separate card including any relevant information about state restrictions or testing requirements.

5. most importantly - checking our attitudes and having FUN!

   one thing we both keep saying is that at the end of the day, no matter what, we’re still getting married. the wedding is the celebration, but we’re focused on building a beautiful marriage. so even if we have to go with our 3rd guest list and our plans don’t go as we envisioned - we’re still tying the knot when all is said and done!