Are you one of many couples around the world who is newly engaged and set a wedding date in 2021? Are you struggling to plan the intricacies of your wedding day under social distancing laws thanks to the global pandemic? It’s an understatement that these are uncertain times, but don’t forget you have your whole life ahead of you with your partner. And one of the best ways to get your mind off things is to start planning your 2021 wedding, today! Today we are going to discuss how you can plan your 2021 wedding under pandemic restrictions.
1: Pick Your Wedding Date
With COVID-19 cancelling a majority of weddings in 2020, many people will be looking at moving their wedding to 2021. So picking a date, now, is important if you haven’t done so already. It’s also important to pick some alternate dates, so you can be flexible. Flexibility in these times is critical. While you might have a small wedding, you could find a shortage in Saturdays in 2021. Saturday availability is always hard to come by, but with so many weddings being postponed, they are going to be rare next year.
It is important to remember that the day of the week doesn’t impact the value, purpose or meaning of your wedding, or how you want to celebrate it! And when we finally emerge from pandemic restrictions, it’s likely your guests will be craving meaningful social celebrations. So don’t worry if you have to schedule your wedding on a Sunday, Friday or even a Wednesday!
2: Hire a Wedding Planner
A wedding planner is often seen as a luxury most can’t afford or bother with. But at times like these, a wedding planner can make all the difference. A wedding planner will have a wide range of contacts in the wedding industry, to help make your planning go smoothly. You don’t have to navigate rescheduling, decision making, contract negotiations, cancellations or contingency planning on your own. By hiring a wedding planner, you’ll find yourself in a better position as you plan your 2021 wedding.
3: Research!
When you organise a wedding, you are essentially building a team of professionals who need to work in sync to ensure a stress-free day. As a result, it is important to research all of your vendors, explore feedback from other couples, and make sure you have a good relationship with them. If you don’t have a good team of vendors on your side, you might find it difficult to work with them when the unexpected happens and you need to postpone or reschedule. You need to be comfortable working with each of your vendors and know they have your best interests in mind.
4: Have Contingency Plans
As we’ve seen with the pandemic, having contingency plans is vital. You and your wedding planner – if you hire one – need to be ready to troubleshoot, navigate and anticipate circumstances beyond your control. The word of the day is "pivot" and it is important to remember. You need to be able to pivot and adjust plans as needed, based on weather conditions, government regulations, travel restrictions, illnesses, safety and more. You need to be prepared for anything, which can be stressful. This is why we recommend working with a wedding planner who can help you manage these unexpected circumstances.
5: Negotiation
Relationships with your vendors are important but so is the ability to negotiation. Kind and thoughtful negotiation is powerful, and knowing how to use it is important. You should never try to strong arm a vendor into ding what you want – that’s the fastest way to unhappy vendors who could refuse to work with you and ruin your day. This is one of the reasons why having a wedding planner can help you organise your vendors. A wedding planner can find opportunities and solutions that benefit everyone, especially when contracts and policies are at stake.
Further, wedding planners have the ability to supply a vendor with many more clients after your wedding, which gives them some leverage to negotiate on your behalf. A planner can offer more than what you can offer on your own, which results in some great benefits for you and your wedding.
6: Financial Planning and Budgeting
While this might be the least exciting part of your wedding planning, it is definitely the most important. If you start planning your wedding without a budget, then you’re making a risky investment. Weddings can quickly get out of control if you don’t have the right budget in place. You need to discuss with your partner (and family, if they’re pitching in) to find a comfortable budget for everyone. It’s also important to decide which vendors you want to spend more money on – maybe you have a particular photographer in mind who you would rather spend more money on than flowers, for example.
True Bride offers a free, online budget calculator to help you plan and budget your wedding better. But you need to have a budget and plans in place to ensure your wedding doesn’t blow out and end up costing you your honeymoon and even future homeowning plans. Your wedding is one of the biggest events of your married life, so its important that you plan thoroughly to ensure everything is perfect on your special day. Whether you decide to plan on your own or use a wedding planner, it is important that you begin planning your 2021 wedding, now. The more flexible you are with your planning and chosen days, the happier you and your wedding party will be!
True Bride is Australia’s leading wedding directory. With a wide range of vendors across Australia, as well as an innovative wedding calculator, calendar and even seating planner, we can help you plan the perfect day!
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