Planning a pandemic wedding | How to navigate all of the sh*t with COVID-19 and still be excited
Wedding Planning during the COvid-19 pandemic | Best Calgary wedding + Banff Elopement photographers
Are you planning a wedding these days? Feeling overwhelmed and lost? You’re not alone. The pandemic has added countless moving parts to an already complex process and it’s exhausting. As Calgary Wedding Photographers, where restrictions have completely derailed events since the onset of the pandemic, we totally get it and emphathize with our couples. It’s not easy and it’s okay to feel frustrated or even defeated on certain days. Should you go-ahead with a scaled down wedding/elopement or simply postpone for an undetermined amount of time?
The good news is that our 2020 season has taught us that it’s still possible to have a beautiful and timeless wedding day while respecting health guidelines. We Photographed + Filmed a wide range of Elopements and Micro-Weddings last year and so we want to share our experience and thoughts with you to hopefully inspire and spark some excitement once again for the upcoming season!
Looking ahead: 2021 + beyond
*let us just preface this section with a disclaimer that we realize things shift rapidly and that in 2 months time this could all be horribly out of date. But with that said…
As we just passed the 1 year mark of the pandemic, there seems to be an influx of positive news (vaccines are here - YAY), yet uncertainty still lingers as we wait for the easing of restrictions and a return to normalcy here in Canada.
By all means we are not experts and don’t pretend to be, but our best guess would be that Weddings in 2021 will still have some sort of restrictions in place through to the end of the year (hopefully less so as we move into summer + fall, but time will tell). That said, we feel it’s best to plan conservatively (the old saying of ‘plan for the worst and hope for the best’ rings true here).
The good news is that vaccines work, and work well. All of the real world data coming out of Israel is extremely positive and promising for the rest of the globe. As of late March, they are largely ‘open’ and numbers continue to plummet. The United States and United Kingdom will soon tell us more as their populations start to have meaningful vaccination rates and Canada shouldn’t be too far behind (we wish we were faster too, but things are trending in the right direction these days). Without going down a rabbit-hole, the bottom line is that there’s reason for optimism. There’s a way out of this pandemic but most likely it will test our patience and resolve just a little while longer.
What are your options?
Alright, so what can you do? Well, we like to keep things simple and so we broke it down into 3 basic paths that you can take:
1) Plan an Elopement and/or Micro-Wedding - This is probably the most obvious choice for couples wanting to move ahead and get married safely during the pandemic. Even before COVID, we were specializing in small and intimate weddings and we absolutely love them. There’s more flexibility + freedom to plan the day just how you want. Everything can be put together with intention and focus on the experience of the day. Suddenly the door opens to non-traditional things like planning a heli-elopement …. sunset ceremonies on a mountaintop (not too bad right?!)
Depending on restrictions at the time, this can include literally just you and your partner, or often a small group of your immediate family + best friends.
2) Plan an Elopement and/or Micro-Wedding now, and then a Wedding Reception later - For some, the thought of losing out on a giant party with all of their closest friends + family is just not an option, so why not plan to get married now and then throw a celebratory party later on when we’ve exited the pandemic? This is a great option to consider and it will take some of the pressure off in the meantime as we all wait for the days of large gatherings + insane moves on the dance floor again.
3) Postpone your Wedding until after the Pandemic - Another fairly obvious one. This one requires patience as no one truly knows when we’ll be in the clear again. That said, if you’re in no rush and don’t want to compromise, there’s nothing wrong with waiting. Just make sure to be upfront with your venue + all of your vendors, secure your new date and try not to overthink things in the meantime as you wait.
What can you do right now?
Regardless of whether you’re eloping or planning a more traditional wedding, we have some points below for the days and weeks ahead:
Follow developments closely (but not too close!) It’s important to be informed and know the general trends in your area. That said, too much time online can lead your head spinning. It’s best to strike a balance - if you’re feeling anxious, disconnect for a while, get outside and keep things simple.
Re-align your expectations. Your wedding day can and will be amazing, just different during the pandemic. Coming to terms with this is important and will make things easier as you get into the thick of planning. Again, keep things simple and try to focus on yourselves as a couple and why you’re getting married in the first place.
Let go of guilt that comes along with smaller guest lists. We know it might be hard cutting certain people from your list, and certainly feelings of guilt and indecision are natural. Just remember, you didn’t choose this, you’re just playing the hand you’ve been dealt.
Be Flexible and accept change. This pandemic has completely blow away all of the norms when it comes to wedding planning. No matter how good your plan is, things will likely change somewhere along the line. As long as you know this beforehand, it suddenly isn’t as daunting. Aim to be pro-active rather than re-active. Plan for scenario A, B + C and you’ll be all good.
Communicate and collaborate with your vendors. It needs to be said, that the pandemic has been pretty rough on the wedding industry. It’s definitely a good idea to be in touch with your vendors as you navigate your plans and make sure everyone is on the same page (we appreciate this). And by collaborate, we mean ask us for help! We have way too much wedding knowledge and are always happy to share and work with our clients to come up with solutions to your problems - most vendors feel exactly the same way.
Focus on the pros. We all know the cons of the situation, but there are still plenty of pros. As we said before, a smaller wedding lends itself to plenty of unique opportunities that just wouldn’t be possible with a larger day. Be intentional with your plans, think creatively and embrace the opportunity.
Get excited! Sometimes we need a reminder, it’s okay to be excited about something these days! Your wedding day is going to be awesome. Get excited! :)
Ideas for your Elopement or Micro-Wedding
Lastly, we wanted to leave you with a few more thoughts on how to make your wedding day perfect.
Incorporate letters from Family + Friends. With everyone not being able to attend, this is a great way to include them in your day and feel the love. Have all your favourite people write you hand written notes to read in the morning as drink your coffee or snuggle with your partner.
Be intentional. Do what you love on your wedding day. Love biking? Go for a short morning ride together. Have a favourite cafe to get coffee? Go there in the morning. The wedding day doesn’t need to be solely about ‘traditional’ wedding stuff. Be creative, focus on your experience and make those personalized touches happen.
Include Videography Coverage. Having a film of your Elopement or Intimate Wedding is a nice way to share your experience with your guests that weren’t able to attend. For some examples of films from 2020, head here.
Weekday Weddings. As with everything else, the rules of having a wedding on the weekend are gone. It’s definitely more acceptable to have a wedding through the week and there are definitely some benefits. Less crowds, less competition for vendors and you might even find better rates. Worth looking into.
Go outside! In Canada we often seem to default to indoors (to be fair, our climate is pretty harsh sometimes). That said, we’re all capable of embracing the weather and some of our all-time favourite weddings have been fully outdoors. Outdoor cocktails, speeches + receptions are a trend that we’d love to see continue past the pandemic and totally worth the risk!
Final Words
Hopefully we gave you some inspiration and got your excitement back on track! Of course if you have questions or want to chat, we’d love to hear from you here.
Even with COVID, there’s going to be plenty to celebrate in 2021 and we can't wait to be a part of it!