Advice for planning your wedding or elopement in 2020

This year has probably thrown you for a loop as you're navigated a global pandemic while planning a wedding. From re-booking vendors to non-refundable retainers, it's been a lot to handle. We asked a few former brides what wedding planning advice they have for anyone going through the stress of 2020 and here's what they had to say.

What was the best part of your wedding day?

That is such a hard question lol!! I think our reception was my favorite part. Literally, every aspect of it, from start to finish. A giant intention we had while planning was to make our wedding reception super fun, not just for us but for our guests. & it definitely paid off! -Brandi Royer

The best part of our wedding day was the celebration we had with all our friends and family. Besides the ceremony itself of becoming a married couple, our reception was a lot of fun. The food was really good, although we were too excited to eat very much. The program we had during the reception was super fun! Having our bridesmaids and groomsmen (who were made up of family and dear friends) be a part of it by sharing their favorite memories and stories of one/or both of the wedding couple. We played the shoe game, where the newlyweds sat back to back answering questions of which of the two of them matched the description best. We laughed, we cried, and we smiled all evening. -Crystal Dyer

What do you remember most about your wedding day?

I remember the looks on my loved-ones faces. Whether it was them crying or laughing. It was the happiest i'd ever seen them be, and the nicest to me they ever were to me (lol) -Brandi Royer

Besides the false alarm of a ballistic bomb threat coming to Hawaii... Really what we remembered the most about our wedding day was the feeling of gratitude to simply get married to the person we love. -Crystal Dyer

Was there anything you stressed out about in the planning process that ended up not being that big of a deal?

hmmmm. i guess at times i was overly worried about making certain difficult people in our family feel comfortable when at the end of the day those people were going to feel uncomfortable & upset no matter what.
-Brandi Royer

Picking the wedding date. We tried to accommodate the date of our wedding to enable everyone to attend. Although in the end, not everyone was able to make it, we still felt the spirit of love and support of those individuals there as if they had come. -Crystal Dyer

What were some of the things you regret spending time/money on?

I put together a DIY polaroid photobooth area & guestbook that literally no one used! Like only my bridesmaids used it. It was one of my biggest a mistakes not having our engagement pictures printed into a guestbook at the welcome table to be honest. I thought i would be unique and different by making a crafty area thinking people would use it. Turned out to be a fail :D ALSO....we completely regret not having someone film our speeches. Our videographer wanted to charge us $1000 just to film it raw without editing....which was not something we were willing to pay. & then we completely forgot to ask someone to just record it with their phone. Super bummed that we can't re-watch our speeches because they were soooo good! -Brandi Royer

We don't really have any regrets due to the fact that our family and close family friends all helped out in to make the day as perfect as it could have been including decorations, music, and program. We were fortunate that we knew a lot of talented people who were very willing to help out. BUT, having perfect decorations would probably have been the least of our concerns thinking back now. -Crystal Dyer

What were some of the things you don't regret spending time/money on?

We honestly do not regret spending money in any area. We were very particular and careful with what vendors we chose! -Brandi Royer

Food, finding a venue that catered. AND of course our photographers! We also had a guy come in to film and create a video of our special day. ALL of it very worth it, we will forever have those photos and video to enjoy. -Crystal Dyer

What's some advice you would give to someone planning their wedding during COVID 19?

Take it slow. Don't pressure yourself to make things happen ASAP if it's causing you two stress during these crazy times. Wedding planning should be enjoyable and exciting for the most part! Of course, there are challenges, and there will be stress. But, if it makes you upset or stressed the majority of the time, you might need to take a step back by taking some time to reconnect with yourself & analyze the whole purpose of why you guys are having the type of wedding that you're planning in the first place. The thought and process of it should feel good, and nothing less!!! <3 -Brandi Royer

RELAX, focus on marrying the person you love. Don't worry about partying and planning anything elaborate. You have plenty of time to celebrate with your loved ones later. Celebrating does not only mean having a big highly decorative festive party or how much you spend. No matter how small the gatherings, or how simple and casual it is (even if it means multiple small get-togethers with different groups of friends and family each time). In the end, celebrating is in the spirit and attitude of it all (love and joy), which can be done in person, video chat, or social media. -Crystal Dyer

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