During this unknown time of uncertainty it can be hard to imagine your wedding day, sadly many couples have had to postpone or cancel their special day. If you find you’re one of the many people at home during lockdown, why not use this time to get organised and excited for your big day. There’s plenty of planning to do, and with this gift of time you may find you can get surprising amounts of wedmin done from the comfort of your sofa.
Find Your Wedding Venue
Ok so you may not be able to finalise this, however if you’ve recently got engaged you can use this time to research and explore your dream venue. Practically everywhere has a website and dedicated wedding contact, so take your time and create a shortlist of your favourite venues to visit after lockdown has lifted. Why not contact the venues and ask them to email you their wedding pack and price list?
For more inspiration and ideas visit our dedicated venues and wedding reception finder.
Set Your Wedding Budget
If this has been playing on your mind it’s a good time to create a wish list and budget. From most to least important create a list of everything you want to be included at your wedding and work from there. This is an opportunity to think carefully and research everything you would like for your big day, you might even find a few bargains with all this time you have to shop around.
Create Your Wedding Favours and Decorations
One great way to reduce costs is to create and make your own wedding favours. If you’ve never had the time to decant your favourite tipple into 100 miniature bottles, or to fold 200 pretty paper origami swans – now is the time! You can pack away and store your favours until the big day, from pretty hessian bags of sweets to mini bunches of dried flowers you can explore and create perfect, lovingly made personal wedding favours.
Who has the best handwriting? You could even take the time to handwrite pretty gift tags and messages to tie to your favours, look online for a simple calligraphy pen and some simple string tags.
Make Wedding Bunting
If you’re a whizz with the sewing machine (or even if you’re not!) you might find you have time to create some beautiful bunting for your wedding. Try using cut up old sheets and curtains and pretty fabrics to create bunting to drape around your venue.
This will look especially beautiful if you plan a relaxed Summer wedding, or an outdoor wedding – perfect to line the aisle. There are plenty of ways to create beautiful simple bunting, you don’t have to be an expert and you can keep it for years to come.
Make Centrepieces and Table Decorations
If you fancy creating some beautiful homemade centrepieces then now is the time! Whether you make them or start to make a collection of items ready for assembly, you can start to get organised. Try glittering some simple tealight holders, or spray some simple glass bottles and vases with gold or silver ready for your dazzling display. If you need some more inspiration take a look at our guide – 50 stunning DIY centrepieces where you will find lots of ideas and advice.
Create a Wedding Quiz
You’ve got the time to think of some great questions and think of some funny memories here. Try creating a quiz for your guests that includes some questions that everyone will know – perhaps you can organise a sweepstake for the wedding breakfast with the winner receiving a prize. Your guests will love this little break in tradition and distraction, and now is the perfect time to think about your questions.
Design Your Seating Plan
This sounds like a simple task but it can often take longer than you think. Once you have considered family politics, friendship groups and where everyone will feel comfortable it can often feel like a marathon. During lockdown why not organise your seating plan, and even better why not make it too?
You’ll just need some paper or card, you can even hand write the seating plan if you don’t have a printer. Be as elaborate as you like – table names could be special places you’ve visited, loved ones that are no longer with us, or perhaps even your favourite football players – now is the time to get creative and think of something special to you and your partner.
Write Vows and Speeches
If you’re planning on writing your own vows or doing a speech you will have lots of time to research and create your perfect words. During this time of reflection everything has slowed down and allowed us to think about what’s important to us, you might find the words flow easier than you first thought.
Print, Pack and Send Invitations
There are lots of ways you can design and print your invitations online. If you have the date set you could look to design and send out save the date cards, or if the wedding is fast approaching then it might be time to send out your official invites. Order your invites to pack at home you will have time to personalise each invite, as well as time to address and stamp the envelopes. If your invites are sat waiting for you to send out – this is the perfect time, put on your favourite box set and start filling those envelopes.
Research Your Honeymoon
If you’re not sure where you want to go on honeymoon you can take the time to research all of your dream destinations and plan an itinerary. You can research the best time of year to visit your honeymoon destination and explore reviews, ratings and costs at a slow pace.
It’s a great opportunity to explore everywhere you want to visit from the comfort of your own home – there is so much information online you may even find you can secure yourself a bargain as you have more time to research costs and providers.
Trial Your Makeup
If you’re planning to do your own wedding makeup, or if you’re undecided this is a great time to explore makeup tutorials and recommendations. There are plenty of guides online which can not only give you ideas and inspiration, but also guide you through the process. Try ordering a few key pieces of makeup online to try out – from the perfect foundation to flawless contouring you will find lots of inspiration.
Plan the Stag and Hen Do
If you’re planning your own stag or hen do then this is a great time to research and plan. You can finalise numbers, create to do lists and delegate tasks from your sofa. You can also set a budget per person and consult everyone to confirm, it’s a great time to explore options and research some of the larger costs such as accomodation if you’re planning a night away.
Book Suit and Dress Appointments
Just because we can’t go out at the moment it doesn’t mean you can’t book your first dress fitting or explore places you want to visit after lockdown. Not only will businesses be keen to secure future custom, you may also find once shops reopen they are rather busy. Contact your local wedding dress shop to organise your first try-on, or book your first suit fitting. Not only will this give you some peace of mind it will also be something lovely to look forward to.
Get Saving
During this lockdown we are sadly unable to visit our favourite restaurants or head off on our holidays. Why not try using it as an opportunity to save some money towards your wedding day. If you usually go out for dinner on a Friday night, or you usually grab a coffee on the way to work why not put that money aside and save it, you’ll soon see the total start to climb.
It can feel overwhelming at the best of times when trying to plan a wedding, if you have found yourself at home during this unprecedented time of uncertainty take the time to plan and do what you can from the comfort of your living room. Before long we will return back to our busy lives, we can look forward to seeing friends and family, and a wedding is something positive and wonderful for everyone to look forward to. Happy wedding planning!
