Weddings are looking different these days. With so many changes in our world, one thing remains true: #LoveIsNotCanceled!

Before you give up all hope for a wedding in 2020, check out what other couples have been doing below. Having worked with hundreds of couples over the last 10 years, we captured so many wonderful mini-weddings. We have great ideas on how to celebrate safely and creatively, to create an even more meaningful day than you could have imagined.

We are working with so many couples who are enduring the difficulty of having to postpone and reschedule their wedding plans. With consideration of their family members health, travel plans and their venue and county guidelines, we know it has been frustrating for so many couples who have been counting down the day to their wedding for months, if not years. Your wedding day is still a possibility! We have been capturing beautifully intimate micro-weddings and elopements this year. Many couples are seeing it as an opportunity to overcome a challenge with their partner, and enjoying the unexpected positives that occur.

Keep your original wedding date

Get married now, have a killer party later. Plan small ceremony in 2020 to start your marriage off when you had planned. Although the current state of the world influences how, where, and with whom we can celebrate, it hasn’t taken away the opportunity to express your love. Interested? Read on!

Find a venue

With California counties varying in their regulations, there are some cities with approachable ordinances for group events. Most couples we work with are opting for private estates. Reason being: there is more flexibility for bringing in catering. While some venues have stricter rules than others on group dining, at a private estate you will likely have the option to choose a caterer that can accommodate your needs for a group dinner. But where do I even begin to look for a location? Good question. That leads us to our next recommendation…

Hire a coordinator

Coordinators in the wedding industry are experts in finding venues that meet specific criteria. For example, they often have special connections at private estates that you cannot find just from searching Airbnb or VRBO. They also will be very well-versed in each of your local county’s current regulations for events. Instead of spinning your wheels searching and potentially running into a dead-end, I cannot more highly recommend working with a coordinator who will be able to guide you in the right direction. If you are worried about the cost of a planner, be encouraged. With the way the wedding season has diminished, many coordinators are available and open for work right now and I imagine will be willing to be flexible on cost. It doesn’t hurt to ask – be up front about your budget and see what they are willing to work with. Trust me – in a regular wedding season I would say it’s worth spending the money to have an expert’s guidance – but in these unprecedented times, this decision is practically necessary to navigate planning a wedding with such uncertainty everywhere. Need some recommendations? We have worked really hard to create strong relationships with talented professionals over the last 10 years in the event industry. Here are coordinators that we have worked with in Northern and Southern California, and they were so great we want to shout from the mountaintops, “YOU ROCK!” We’d be more than happy to make an introduction for you.

Eating and Drinking Together During a Pandemic

The biggest question couples have is: How will we be able to have a normal reception right now? There are some creative ways to eat and drink at a mini-wedding. Caterers in every city are available right now, and if they aren’t able to provide staff for service at the event, they will deliver the food to your event to serve. However, many private chefs and catering companies are offering live service at small events right now.

One of our current favorite ideas for a micro-wedding reception is a mobile bar! Check out some California based companies below:

 

There are some really fun food trucks that we’ve seen like this one from Bear & The Wren in San Luis Obispo:

These are very few of the MANY other mobile catering and cocktail companies all throughout California that we work with. This is another reason why working with a coordinator is such an asset – they will be familiar with all of these and can offer many recommendations for your event in the region you are celebrating. I’ll say it again: don’t be shy… Check out some of these coordinators here!

Guest Safety and Comfort

Being mindful of your guests’ health and safety is important, but sometimes it can be uncomfortable to discuss. We love this idea of a way to help your guests feel more comfortable around each other:

Plan a Sequel Wedding

By having your mini-wedding, you get to keep the wedding date you’ve been dreaming of, and you can still choose to celebrate with guests later. After your mini-wedding, continue prepping for your “sequel wedding,” or the original wedding that you had planned prior to the pandemic. If you’re planning a small wedding now, and a big ceremony later, use this as an opportunity to wear something fun and exciting. You get the lucky chance to wear two wedding dresses. Get married in a playful jacket, or something short and sparkly. Have fun with this experience!

With a downsized event it can be easy to feel like you don’t need all the frills of the big day you’re planning for later, but one thing to never cut out: the photographer. Whether you’re planning a wedding “sequel” later on, or not, it’s still your wedding day! You will want to remember the special moments you shared, and have those moments captured by a professional. Even if it’s not a big wedding, it is a monumental life moment, and remembering it forever is always special. Even the small smiles, glances, and tears that you may miss on the day, can be captured by a photographer and create priceless memories for anniversaries to come. There is no better time than now to create your own rules.

 

Want more ideas?

Click here to view more mini-weddings on our blog!