To my dear 2020 brides, I say a little prayer for you and your wedding plan woes. COVID19 has disrupted your entire lives, I’m sure. For those of you who have planned, prepared and paid copious amounts of money, I am so sorry you have to put everything for your weddings in 2020 on pause. It sucks. It really does.

I am here for you if you want to call, text or email me. Most of my March, April and early May appointments have already contacted me to cancel, postpone or reschedule their 2020 weddings, since we are planning around COVID-19. Thank you for keeping in contact with me.

Wedding planning is such an interesting time, no matter when your wedding is.  Our 2020 weddings have had the hardest, most bizarre time with their planning.  For every newly engaged bride, there is almost an expectation to become a detailed event planner from the time the sparkly little engagement ring is placed on her  finger.

From the excitement of choosing a beautiful wedding dress to the intricacies of flowers and guestlists, brides put their entire hearts, heads and time into planning their dream wedding.  It’s quite the task.  Or, more like a second job.  Most, if not all, of my brides gracefully rise to the task.

If you are one of those brides, please note that your attention to detail, wedding style and overall themes rarely go unnoticed. There are so many beautiful photos I get back from my clients that I just adore.

For current brides, aka 2020 weddings, all your time Pinteresting, planning and preparing will not go to waste. I have read a few articles and talked to a few people about possible solutions to the 2020 wedding plan woes due to the COVID19 virus. Below are a few ideas for your COVID19 Wedding, my dear.

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1. Have Your COVID19 Wedding Anyway. But Smaller.

A few brides are still planning on having their weddings in small, succinct spaces with only immediate family.  By keeping your circle of contacts close, the risk of getting the virus is shown to be smaller.  Invite only those people that you are in regular contact with anyway to keep your COVID19 wedding as safe as possible.

That being said, having the actual ceremony could get tricky since you would normally need your minister, priest or other ordained official to announce your wedding.  Luckily, it’s now easier than ever to have someone close (like a sister or BFF) get ordained online to officiate your wedding.

2. Get Married Now, Party Later.

This is similar to the first suggestion. But basically, this is the 2020 wedding version of “you do you”. This is just two partners getting married right now, this year, no matter what. Again, you’ll need someone to officiate and witness the wedding, and luckily there are a few possible ways to do that.

Get Married Now:

  • Call your priest, pastor or rabbi and see if he would FaceTime the wedding. I have no idea if this will actually work based on the different religions, but it’s worth asking.
  • See option #1 and get someone you are close to ordained so they can officiate.
  • If you are not on a state stay home order, go to the courthouse and get married. It’s not a chapel or fancy venue, but the end goal is still the same: You’re married.  Just be sure to bring a mask.

Party later:

Plan your wedding reception for a later date. Couples who have destination weddings typically do this for their guests that cannot travel. Plan a wedding reception for a few months out from the original wedding date.  Better yet, celebrate your one year anniversary with your loved ones.

I love the idea of celebrating on your anniversary because lemme tell you – after planning a wedding, you will not want to put that much energy into planning anything else in your life.  If you have your reception on your one year anniversary date, you are utilizing the planning you’ve already done for a year in advance.  And, you have a built-in one year anniversary gift.  Done and done.

People love to party and celebrate your love, so they will come no matter when you plan your wedding reception. You will have to work with your reception venue, of course. But again, it is worth asking for the reschedule. All that said, I would highly suggest making that reception date sometime after April 2020 just to be safe.

3. Live Stream Your COVID19 Wedding

Invite your guests to a Facebook party or Zoom Meeting and stream your small COVID19 wedding. They will all still get to see the ceremony.

You still get to wear your wedding dress. Definitely still get your hair and makeup done (make sure the artists and stylists wear masks). Even invite your original wedding party to stand by your side.  You can literally do everything except be at your venue.

If you prefer no makeup and hair stylist, I would be happy to FaceTime you with a hair and makeup tutorial.  I can also offer you a written makeup protocol to use for your wedding.  As a professional makeup artist, I’d like to make sure you look and feel your best, whether I am actually applying the makeup or not. Contact me for more information. 

4. Wait.

While this is the most frustrating option for 2020 weddings, it is also the most practical. This COVID19 virus is no joke. In this instance, I would play it safe rather than sorry. The government at both the federal and state levels have impressed upon us the importance of social distancing. I am somewhat of a rule follower, so I highly suggest following these orders.

I take pride in my work as a clean makeup artist, so I already conduct all my makeup applications using Standard Precautions. That being said, an airborne illness is not as easy to prevent because well, you know – breathing. Consequently, I wouldn’t want to wear a protective mask with my bridal gown.

In the time you are waiting, enjoy your fiancé. Simply enjoy him or her. Play Scrabble. Go for a walk together. Clean out a closet. Paint a room. Ride bikes. Flip your mattress. Make room for all the wedding gifts you are receiving. Cook together. Wash your pet. Color in this funny coloring book. Play truth or dare.  Just enjoy each other  – without stressing about whether Uncle Todd can actually sit at Table 24 with Aunt Pamela without causing a scene.

This is also a great time to take care of yourself. Get an extra workout in. Take an Epsom salt bath. Give yourself a facial. Paint your toes. Paint your nails. Exfoliate your body. Write in a journal. Read a Brene Brown book. Enroll in an online course. Take your vitamins. Watch a documentary about your field of work. Learn to cook (from chefs that had their makeup done by me).  Eat your vegetables. Meditate.

Take your event planning hat off, give it a rest, and just be you. I personally know the anxiety that happens within the final months before a wedding. I can feel the anxiety and panic oozing through the emails and texts I’ve received from my 2020 wedding brides. Breathe. All your work will all come to fruition.  And I will make you pretty on whichever date you choose.

It will be all be ok. You will still marry your soulmate. There will be cake and flowers, and dresses, and suits and ties, and lots of people you love. It will happen. And it will be awesome.

Stay healthy.

With love,
Shannon

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