We all know these past 10 months weren’t as expected.This year hit like a tornado, coming through quick and changing things indefinitely.

Scrambling to pick up the pieces, you are either currently newly engaged or have been for a while, and are currently looking forward to exchanging your vows & saying “I do.”

For newly engaged brides to be, you are probably buzzing with the high of being engaged, please don’t tone that down. Enjoy every second of it! But now the question is- “How do we do this? How can we get married, during a pandemic?”

For brides that have been engaged for a while, you are the ones that had to post pone everything and are waiting to have your big day. Your venue keeps postponing and the CDC guidelines keep changing, and you are probably thinking, “What now?”Don’t worry- I’m right there with you.

After working with over a dozen brides through the pandemic, I’ve asked questions, took photos, and felt the feels with you all.

So, I decided to piece together what I’ve seen actually work and to help execute a beautiful wedding day! Here are some Tips of How To Plan a Wedding during a Pandemic. For the newly engaged couples and for those who don’t want to wait any longer.

1.) Narrow your guest list .

When it comes down to planning, the first thing on the agenda is to see what you can afford for the wedding. What is kind of cool about planning a wedding during a pandemic is less can be more. When you narrow down your guest list you can see who can or cannot make it to the wedding. Which will mean that you’ll be spending less money on catering which is normally most of the heavy weight in cost. That can make things more ideal because you’ll have more resources to make your Dream Wedding come true!!! WOOT WOOT!! (Beautiful florals, wedding dress, gifts to your bridal party). Another resource is literally, evaluating who you know, and asking them if they’d be willing to do a back yard wedding or use their house as ceremony site or a location for photos. You may be to even get permits granted for parks, beaches or mountains with beautiful views.

2.) Hire your dream team.

Now with the lower guests counts because of the pandemic, you are able to utilize more of your funds efficiently and hire your dream team. The three pivotal vendors that are must haves are: Wedding Planners, Photographers and Videographers.Some people think, “What the heck do I need a wedding planner for?” Wedding planners are especially important right because you need someone who is knowledgeable about planning a covid wedding, who can find the recourses needed like tents, chairs, food & etc, and who will be able to get the permits for your event.

 It is so so vital that you hire someone special to capture your moments on film. Most of the time, I get clients that will choose the less expensive photographer over the photographer who has several years under the belt with more experience. Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of extremely talented artists out there, but there is value in booking someone who continues to educate themselves, knows about lighting, knows how to photograph indoors, over a newbie. In the last couple years I’ve had more than a handful of clients come back, wishing they’d hire better services than choosing the less expensive one to meet the budget. On your wedding day, the music will fade, you won’t remember what the steak tasted like. The only thing you take with you are the memories, that are made tangible through photo + video, you only get married once. Why settle for lesser services when you can afford now to get the best

3.) Keep some traditions.

Remember this is YOUR wedding day. Why not make it special for you by embracing what you would have truly loved to had if it wasn’t covid. Like having a gorgeous ceremony, and taking the time to make it unique to you and your hubby or wife to be.

Maybe have a longer exchange vows, live acoustic music, candle lighting & pretty arches and having your friends and family on zoom to watch.

Photography: Jasmine Tianna Photography