Congratulations!!!! You’re engaged!!! But….everyone is social distancing, non-essential business are closed, and it feels like a lot of the world has been put on pause to allow it to heal from the chaos currently being endured. What now??? How do you plan a wedding during this quarantine? No worries, we have some tips for you that will allow you to keep chipping away at your dream wedding day for Fall 2020 or during 2021!

• Event Insurance

  • This is step number one! Start researching event insurance so you can protect yourself during the planning process. No, insurance will not cover anything regarding COVID at this point (kind of like trying to buy flood insurance after your home floods, not going to happen, insurance riders will protect themselves first). However, regardless of the pandemic, insurance will protect you from unforeseen circumstances that prevent a wedding from being able to take place, or if God forbid, a wedding vendor goes out of business (before the pandemic there was an entire venue chain that went under and left couples without a place to say, “I Do!”), etc.

  • Each policy is different and will depend on how much coverage you want.

• Guest List + Budget

  • Establish who is contributing to the wedding budget and start compiling that ideal guest list. Your guest list will impact your budget and its smart to be aware of how many people you’re hoping to invite and how that shakes out in regards to the overall budget you have to spend.

  • Take into consideration the number of people equates to more food, alcohol, tables, linens, centerpieces/decor, place settings, dessert, event staff, etc. We encourage our clients to avoid cookie-cutter budgets found online - they don’t take into account the number of guests, and $60,000 for 100 guests looks much different than $60,000 for 350+ people.

  • Quality over quantity.

  • Once you establish a budget + the contributing parties, and agree to a guest list, start gathering the corresponding addresses and verifying correct spelling of names. This can be a tedious process, but needs to be completed either way, and what better way to kill some time during social distancing?

• Wedding Planner -

  • Shameless plug here, but there are certified wedding planners for a reason. Planning a wedding is no easy feat. Your engagement season should be one of the most exciting times of your life, even in quarantine, but it can quickly become overwhelming. In partnering with a wedding planner like Epoch Co+, you are choosing to sit back and enjoy this wild ride with more time to to date your future spouse and relish in that engagement glow. Most wedding planners, ourselves included, offer a wide variety of packages to ensure that you have exactly the right amount of support throughout the entire process.

  • Wedding planners can help you establish your budget in relation to your guest list, and help prevent you from making costly mistakes.

  • Avoid the bottomless pit that is google search and wedding reviews - wedding planners are here to help you narrow down the vast sea of vendors with custom vendor matchmaking. We’ll line up the vendors to make your vision come to life and help you stay in-line with your budget, allowing you to make educated and intentional decisions each step of the way.

• Venue

  • Once you understand your budget and guest list, secure your wedding venue! Many venues (and wedding vendors in general) are having to reschedule an entire Spring schedule into Fall 2020/Spring 2021, procrastinating could cost you your dream location. The venue will also determine some budget line items - pending what they offer in-house vs. what you have to out-source.

  • How do you tour venues when everyone is suppose to be staying home? Do not fret my friend! Venues are offering virtual tours to help slow the spread of the virus and allow you to still peruse their space. Contact your venues of choice to see what options they have during this time.

  • Also, check contracts to see what their policies are regarding non-refundable fees, rescheduling policies and cancellations. This pandemic isn’t the first chaotic time in History and it won’t be the last. Once you sign that dotted line, you are obligated to fulfill your end of the agreement (that goes for any contract in life).

• Dream Vendors

  • You have your guest list, your wedding planner, your budget, your venue - now what 3 vendors are a top priority to you? Start there.

  • With our planning clients, we always adjust their budget to reflect their dream budget splurge items, and then go down the road of securing vendors such as, catering and bar, along with photography + cinematography + stationery + floral.

• Some ways wedding planning will change during this time:

  • In person meetings will be reduced to virtual meetings. Don’t be afraid to ask your vendors if they offer video meetings if you are wanting more personal relationships outside of emails and phone calls alone. Zoom is a great tool we use, however, good ‘ole Face-time works, too!

  • Tastings -

    • While going in a for full catering or dessert tasting is unlikely during this phase to slow the spread, there are vendors offering curbside pickup - think of it like ordering dinner or dessert from your favorite restaurant and having a mini-date night at home. (Don’t forget to grab your favorite beverage choice for a complete experience - think homemade cocktails, a nice bottle of wine, your favorite soda or tea.)

  • Shopping for Attire -

    • Most shops are closed during this time, but that does not mean you can’t get an appointment scheduled now.

    • Peruse the bridal shops you want to schedule with and get a good understanding of what silhouettes you love and/or designers you adore at their location, plus your dress size. These can affect lead times for shipping.

    • Allow the bridal shops to verify where the attire is shipping from, if it isn’t being purchased directly from the current store stock (off-the-rack), shipping and arrival times could be drastically delayed, or you could be looking at potential rush delivery fees.

    • Are you expecting alterations? Make sure you understand their alteration timelines, and book these as soon as the dress is purchased/ordered. Don’t be afraid to ask if you are required to use in-house alterations or if you can take the dress elsewhere, you may be able to speed up alteration timelines if you are able to outsource to a reputable seamstress that specializes in wedding day attire.

    • Guys - Even before the days of quarantine there were amazing online suit/tux rental places that are able to create tailored attire from a distance. This is ideal even for those wedding parties that are spread over a long distance, and may not have access to the same in-person stores. These are places like Menguin and The Black Tux.

• Honeymoon/Travel

  • Travel outside of the country is limited now, and there is truly no telling how long travel bans or restrictions will be in place long after gathering limits are minimized. Be sure to check local travel sites for the latest updates on travel restrictions as you get closer to the wedding date. Hiring a travel agent and getting travel insurance are also two great ways to plan any destination events/vacations with peace of mind.