First and foremost: congratulations on your engagement!
2020 was supposed to be a magical year to get married in. A few lucky couples were able to get hitched at the beginning of the year, but most have had to postpone and reschedule. My first and most important advice is: Do not cancel! Postpone instead! I have a few tips on how to approach this situation for all of the engaged couples that are eager to get married!
With all the rules and regulations that each provinces has put into place due to COVID-19, it is hard to organize gatherings are not allowed and difficult to predict when these measures will be lifted and under what conditions. After over two months of physical distancing , gatherings of up to 10 people are now allowed in Quebec and up to 5 people in Ontario. This obviously makes it very hard to plan big celebrations such as weddings, engagement parties in 2020 . On my part, many of my 2020 couples have postponed their special occasions to 2021. This means that 2021 will likely be a very busy year and your desired dates may not be available.
Here are two options if you were planning to get hitched in 2020:
If you're too excited to wait and want to get married in 2020: Plan for a smaller scale celebration. However, if you want the big fat wedding, you can wait for 2021 but… PLAN AHEAD!
Celebrations in 2020
From the news we have been receiving from public health authorities, event planners and wedding venues, there won’t be any large weddings allowed for summer 2020. From what I have been hearing from my clients and contacts, most events that were scheduled between April and August 2020 have been postponed to 2021 or to the 2020 fall/winter season. In light of this, I have advised my 2020 brides and grooms to seriously think of scaling down their events. By fall 2020, regulations might allow gatherings of up to 50 or 100 people. If you had planned for a mega fiesta of 300+ people, you may want to consider scaling it down to still have it this year. Here are my tips for planning your event in 2020:
- Keep things in perspective! Remind yourself that that getting married is what matters and not the wedding itself.
- Make a list of what needs to be done: civil ceremony, religious ceremony (if it is the case), reception and see what can be done in these conditions.
- Prepare yourself and your significant other to the reality that it won’t exactly be how you had envisioned it.
- Prepare your relatives and friends for the same reality (i.e. mommy and daddy might freak out not being able to invite the whole neighborhood).
- Prepare several guest lists: one with the core group of your loved ones; and one list with work friends and family friends; and one big list with all the people you want to share your happiness with.
- Focus on the small details that you feel represent you so you can have beautiful memories to hold on to.
There is also the option of having a small celebration in 2020 during your civil wedding/ religious ceremony with only your close family and friends, and then have a big reception in 2021 with all of the people you want to celebrate it with. To a photographers like me, we absolutely love intimate weddings! I have included photo’s Sasha and Megan’s wedding. It was a very small wedding of 10 people that I shot last summer in Montreal.
Waiting for 2021
Are you the type of person that’s been dreaming of your wedding reception since you were a child?, Have you been dreaming of wearing that wedding dress and ready to have the party of your life? Then I strongly suggest you wait for 2021 and my most important advice is book your vendors ASAP! With all the couples postponing their weddings to 2021, the weekends of summer 2021 are already filling up fast. Here are a few tips for planning your event in 2021:
- Decide on a date and book your vendors as soon as possible.
- Consider off-season (November to April) for your date.
- Consider Fridays and Sundays for the warmer months.
- Keep in mind that your guests might still be reticent to attend big gatherings
My last advice is keep it simple and personal and focus on your loved ones! Keep an eye out for my other blog posts about wedding planning and feel free to reach me on Instagram and info@sarahdjafri.ca!