Honouring your 2020 wedding date if you've been affected by Covid-19
This year has seen an incredible amount of couples having to make the difficult choice to press pause on their wedding celebrations, and postpone everything by at least a year because of the covid-19 pandemic. It’s been stressful, overwhelming, confusing, and upsetting, to say the least. BUT! It doesn’t have to be nothing but a bummer. Many couples have chosen to see it as an opportunity to rejig their weddings into exactly what they really wanted, or to have a couple celebrations devoted to their love. Heck, we’ve even heard from some couples that the whole experience has brought them closer together.
One benefit of this whole ordeal is that you now get to have two wedding dates to celebrate: your 2020 wedding date and your 2021 wedding date. I’m not sure many couples will be able to say the same. There are plenty of ways you could choose to celebrate your 2020 wedding date. We came up with some ideas from our many years in the love industry to help you plan, and we reached out to some of our clients to find out how they spent their day. Each story is unique in its way, but at the core is the love that they have for one another and the community of family and friends surrounding them.
If you still find you’re having a hard time coming up with a plan to honour your 2020 wedding date that feels right, keep your eyes peeled for a wonderful dining experience that will be happening in September! The Georgian Bay Bride team is creating a memorable evening that we think you'll love. We're working hard behind the scenes, but we'll be announcing something very very soon. Hang tight!
What advice do you have for couples looking for ways to honour their original wedding date?
FRANCES: One of my favourite things about weddings is that it gives couples an excuse to write down their thoughts and feelings about their favourite person. Remember love letters? There’s something extra special about sitting down and collecting your thoughts on the one you love and then sharing it. Then of course reading how much someone cares for you and appreciates your intricacies. Ahhh! So good! (I think my love language might be words of affirmation, right after affection) Call me sentimental, but a good love letter also turns into an heirloom to treasure. I still have the first Valentine my husband ever wrote me, and I certainly have our vows. Why not take this as an excuse to write this all down for your partner? You can read it aloud, or swap notes. If it were me, I’d pair it with chicken wings, beers and maybe an episode or two of TNG. I like combining romantic gestures with something homey and not-so-fancy. No matter what you decide to do, I definitely recommend carving out some time for just the two of you.
“We stayed home, drank all day and ate tons of snacks. The general manager of our venue was scheduled to get married on the same day as us, so she dropped by our place with a surprise bottle of champagne. It was so sweet! It actually ended up being a really fun day!”
RACHEL: How you honour your original wedding date will reflect you, your partnership, and how you're feeling. Hopefully, you feel like it's an opportunity to commemorate your love and commitment to each other regardless of whether you're able to say your vows and make it official. You might choose to share a delicious meal -- it could be a special treat or food from the restaurant where you had your first date. Or, you could share a special toast with family and friends, in person or digitally.
“We had our families over and played a backyard olympics and mojito bar! And then had a toast at 4pm when we would have gotten married. A bit unconventional lol but the best day. My family made [cornhole boards] from scratch and surprised us haha. So we played that and bocce ball and croquet and that kind of thing. And then had an awards ceremony and dollar store prizes. It was so fun!”
ASHLEY: I know it’s been hard on couples to make the tough decision to postpone or drastically alter their wedding plans because of COVID-19. I think if it was me, I would want to take some time to honour the original date by planning a special meal, maybe cook something together or order take out from a favourite restaurant, and just spend the time together. I also think it’s extra special when you get a little help from your friends and family like my brother and future sister in law did. They were supposed to be married in Italy in July and in addition to a beautiful dinner, flowers and a mini wedding cake that was planned for them, many of their friends and family sent in video messages that were then put together in a video they could watch that evening. It was such a wonderful way for them to experience all the love that would have been shared that day and know that when they do get married everyone can’t wait to celebrate with them.
“We visited our photo location (Spadina Museum in Toronto), bought myself a bouquet of local flowers, and had our photographer do a distanced porch portrait of us. My parents also dropped off a bouquet to send their love. Then our wedding party surprised us with a huge picnic basket with Mr. and Mrs. balloons, bride/groom sashes, dinner (inspired by one of our wedding food stations), champagne, wine, ice cream, pie (from the same company we were going to have for our dessert) and ... the most beautiful bouquet made by my number one florist - Euclid Design Co (inspired by our colour palette). Web had a dance party of two to our own wedding playlists and then got on a zoom call where every person in our wedding party made a toast to us. It turned out to still be an incredible day.”
“I put a scavenger hunt together that led to the church and then presented him with a ring! He’s been saying that ‘if you like it you should put a ring on it’ for a while now and I couldn’t think of a better way to distract us on a day filled with ‘what could have beens’”
