COVID-19 has postponed many weddings across Australia, but our wedding planners are doing some enjoyable wedding planning tasks that you can do right now to brighten up your isolation routine.
How do you choose to spend your downtime right now? You may be working from home while juggling children and a massive workload. You might have been creating a storm, spending almost all your time hanging out with your friends, or doing jigsaw puzzles while re-watching your favourite Netflix series.
Whatever your isolation routine, there are a lot of wedding tasks you can tick off the list if you’re hoping to use this time to get some planning done.
An Australian wedding planner, Lily Jenkins, recommends first taking stock of what’s left on your wedding to do list and finding the things that sound like they’d be fun to focus on right now. Lily says, “We could all use a little self-care right now, and choosing tasks that are uplifting and fun to do as a couple could be a great way for many couples to enjoy this downtime together.”
Plan your wedding ceremony.
Planning your wedding ceremony is something that requires nothing more than a little time and dedication to the task at hand. Not sure what wedding vows are you going to use? Don’t you know what readings to include during the ceremony? It’s a great time to explore these details and come up with a game plan.
“Many couples use their COVID-19 downtime to check in with their celebrant marriage and plan their ceremony script,” Lily says. “I usually recommend that the draught script be completed with the celebrant shortly after booking for their services. As couples get closer to the day, pressure and stress can build up, and I find that couples are often in the best headroom to write loving stuff.
The advantage of planning this right now is that time is on your side. Take the time to read scriptures, poetry, song lyrics, and whatever else you’re drawn to and want to include in your wedding ceremony. Lily also recommends a re-examination of the ceremony script a few months before the wedding as a reminder of what the day really is all about.
Select your wedding musics.
Many people turn to music and the arts as a way to cope with the stress of COVID-19. If you find yourself listening to more tunes than usual, it might be a great time to notice your favourite songs and get an idea of what you’re going to play during your ceremony, as well as your first dance and any other important song selections.
Most wedding musicians and DJs are happy to play music they think you’re going to like, but it’s always helpful to put a few of your favourite songs on a list for them. Lily says, “I often advise couples to put together a playlist with just a few of their favourite songs so that their musicians or DJs can get a sense of what kind of songs they can recommend for significant moments during their wedding.” It sounds like a home dance party waiting to happen! While you’re at it, maybe you’ll also practise the first dance routine!
Create or update your wedding website.
Whether your wedding has been postponed or not yet scheduled, the wedding website is a great format for communicating with your wedding guests.
Don’t you have one yet? We’re offering free wedding websites.
For those who already have a wedding website set up, it’s a great time to update the details of your wedding, especially if it’s postponed. If this is the case, and you’re not sure how to communicate with your wedding guests right now, here’s Lily’s advice.
Not sure about any of the details of your wedding date and location? That’s all right. You can now use your free time to get your wedding website ready and uploaded with photos so that it’s easy to get started when the details get ironed out.
Would you like to make this task more fun? Lily recommends adding more interactive features to your wedding website, such as a video slideshow of the two of you as a couple, or some funny memes to make your postponement levity, if that’s your style.
Host online hangouts for your wedding party.
In normal circumstances, you might be coordinating a weekend brunch or a local happy hour to bring all your bridesmaids and groomsmen together before your wedding, but as we all know, these are not normal times. As a joyful alternative, Lily suggests hosting a virtual happy hour at your wedding party.
You can use this as an opportunity to introduce all the key players to your wedding party and spend time chatting together. You can even test a virtual version of traditional wedding games like a wedding shoe game if you want to keep wedding stuff focused.
Ask special guests to read and make speeches.
All this downtime is a great opportunity to invite your special guests into the fold of your wedding plans. If there’s anyone you’re planning to ask to do a reading at the ceremony or a toast at the reception, now is a great time to set up a FaceTime chat with each person and invite them to have a meaningful role in your wedding.
“Everyone is looking for uplifting conversations right now, so it’s really a great time to bring a little light to your loved ones by asking them to take on an important role in your wedding day,” says Lily. “To make the invitation official, you can even go as far as sending a bottle of bubbles to their house the day before so you can crack it open together during your virtual hangout.”
