You’re probably going to be home for quite some time, so why not start to plan your wedding during quarantine? Here are some ideas of things you can do to fill your time & make some progress on planning your wedding.
Research vendors & venues
Post to your Facebook, Instagram, etc. and ask your friends and family about the vendors they used and venues they chose. Who went above and beyond? Start making a list of vendors you’d like to reach out to. Find them on Instagram – or even TikTok! – to get a feel for their style and to see if you think your personalities will mesh well.
Select ceremony readings
Pick out a reading or two! You may not end up having them read during the ceremony, but having them selected – even as a just-in-case – now will save you potential stress down the line. If you’re religious, look into your texts for portions that speak to you and your partner. If you’re looking for more secular options, there are plenty of poems and authors out there. At our wedding, we had my maid of honor read “Union” by Robert Fulghum.
Shop for rings!
The sky’s the limit with online ring shopping – but be sure to buy from a reputable source. Looking for something unique? Check out Etsy! There are lots of jewelry makers on there and many of them take custom requests for personalization and tweaks.
Break in your shoes
Regardless of what kind of shoes you’ll be wearing, if they’re a new pair, you’ll want to break them in before your big day. I didn’t break in my heels & I had a numb toe for a couple of weeks after my wedding – woops! Learn from my mistake.
Collect/Organize your guests’ addresses
Take this time to reach out to your & your future spouse’s relatives for guest info! Don’t just collect names and addresses! Also get emails and phone numbers, to track down RSVPs in the future. Trust me, you WILL be tracking down RSVPs, and you don’t want all of that stress, plus trying to find contact info for each guest, so soon before the wedding.
Set up an online registry
Setting up a registry is like window shopping for your big-dream items. Doing it online, from the comfort of your own home, in your pajamas? Even better! I strongly recommend using Zola. This isn’t sponsored or anything, I just loved using them for our registry. You can set up funding options, where people can just give you money, add items from the Zola store or any other online shop, and you get a discount to use on anything on your registry that isn’t gifted to you after the wedding!
Make your seating chart
Ask anyone who has planned a wedding and I’d be willing to bet that the seating chart was a huge stresser for them. Take this time to approach your seating chart and try to keep calm. In the end, they’re just seats and it’s really only for eating.
My tip is to grab a poster board and post-its of different colors. Draw out your table shapes, and color code the post-its for your family, your partner’s family, friends, etc. so you can easily see who might fit well together.
Write your vows
On your own, or with your partner, go to YouTube and spend some time watching other couples’ wedding videos. Keep an eye out for vows that strike a chord with you & write them down on paper or in the notes section on your phone, or in a Google Doc, so you can easily access them later.
Check out my blog post about writing your own vows.
Choose your first dance song
Sit down with your partner, pull up YouTube, Spotify – whatever you use for music streaming – and start narrowing down what you’d both like your first dance song to be. Can’t agree? Try making your own, separate, lists of songs and then compare to see if any songs are on both of your lists. If you’re really struggling, try listing artists instead of specific songs, and go from there.
Choreograph your first dance
Grab your partner, do-si-do! Or not. I don’t know what your style is.
Push the furniture to the side and make up a dance for your first dance. It doesn’t have to be good, and you certainly don’t have to actually use it at the wedding… but getting up, moving, dancing, and spending quality time together is a great way to spend a day in quarantine.
Design your centerpieces
My top tip for centerpiece planning is to pay attention to height of your centerpieces! You want them to either be low enough that everyone can easily see over them, or tall enough that everyone can easily see under them.
If you’re using more traditional round tables, consider centerpieces that are no taller than 10 inches. If you’re going for a style that is more extravagant or luxurious, go for something tall and make sure that between 10 inches to 16 inches is clear, for your guests to easily chat across the table. With long farmhouse type tables, garlands are a great option!
Another thing to keep in mind is ceiling height. If you’re in a location with high ceilings, go for tall centerpieces to draw everyone’s eye up to the gorgeous details of the venue!
Order Themed Stamps
Stamps are commonly excluded when couples build their budget. Don’t forget you’ll have to mail save the dates, invitations, and thank you notes. You can order them online to potentially save some money, and you’ll have more options to pick from!
Be sure to buy a few extra, in case anything gets returned to you & you have to resend.
Plan on Pinterest
Did you know Pinterest now has an option to separate boards into sections? This is perfect for wedding planning!
You can do things how Pinterest originally had it set up & make separate boards for each category (hair/makeup, clothing, flowers, cakes, etc.). Then share each board with the coordinating vendor.
OR set up one giant Wedding board, with sections for each category. This way, when you send the board to each vendor, they can see your overall wedding theme/vibe as well as inspiration specific to what they offer!
Need help getting started? Check out my Pinterest!
Complete DIY projects
If you’ve already got the supplies, why not give the DIY projects you’re wanting to do a try? If it doesn’t work out, you’ve got time to take it apart and do it again. Keep making changes until you love it … or look for a vendor who can take it over for you, if it doesn’t work out.
And last, but certainly not least, order wood flowers!
Since wood flowers last forever, they’re a great option to buy – especially now. If your wedding ends up having to be postponed, the flowers will be fine through the delay and will still be just as beautiful when your event happens.
There you have it!
15 of my suggestions on how to plan your wedding during quarantine! I know these uncertain times can make it hard to get excited about your upcoming wedding, but I think it’s important to take breaks from the worry and focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. We’ll get through this!
