How can I plan my wedding during lockdown? 8 things you can do to ensure you have the smoothest wedding planning experience.

Getting engaged is one of the most exciting moments of your life, tears of joy won’t stop streaming, and you can’t stop gazing at your newly bejeweled finger. But once this initial excitement begins to wear off, a sudden rush of “what now!?” begins to kick in. Don’t worry – Bridebook are here to help. 

Wedding planning can be daunting even at the best of times, and the current government restrictions to curb the spread of Coronavirus may have you feeling you can’t get started with your planning. At Bridebook, we’d like to help you navigate this stressful time by discussing 8 things that you CAN do right now to ensure the smoothest wedding planning experience.

1. Designate a wedding planning day

It is time to get organised! Making decisions early is the best way to ensure the smoothest wedding planning process. Dedicating one day a week can be the perfect way to ensure that tasks get ticked off and other priorities (like Netflixin’ your favourite show!) do not get in the way.

Knowing where to begin with planning your big day can be overwhelming. Our personalised Wedding Planning Checklist is here to help guide you through the entire planning process. Based on your wedding date, your bespoke Checklist will let you know when to complete each task including pricing guides and suggestions along the way.

2. Reflection

It’s important to sit down with your partner and think about what you both want from your wedding. Will it be a small and intimate occasion or an extravagant party with hundreds of guests? Make sure you reflect and think hard about what is most important to the both of you, as a couple. 

Start researching and looking for inspiration. You can then add any picture or ideas, from perfect playlists, to funny speech ideas to your Bridebook Scrapbook.

3. Budget

Once you have reflected on the kind of wedding you both want, you need to decide how much you are willing and able to spend. Let Bridebook do the hard work for you! With data from over 500,000 weddings, our super powerful Wedding Budget Tool helps you keep track right from the beginning. Simply enter your total budget and we will tell you how much you should spend on every expense from start to finish. 

4. Guest List

Making decisions on your guest list can be a complicated process, from deciding who to invite, to keeping note of guest information along the way.

Bridebook’s Wedding Guest List Tool allows you to easily keep track of your invites, RSVPs and total attending guests. Your Guest List is split into two – one for you and one for your partner – but you can also create as many custom lists as you like! For example, ‘work friends’ or ‘childhood friends’. Your Guest List is ready to help you track all the nitty gritty details: you can track plus ones, dietary requirements, addresses and more.

5. Booking Your Venue

Finding the perfect wedding venue is one of the most important tasks on your checklist, and one which may seem near impossible in the midst of a global pandemic. However, thanks to the power of technology and innovative wedding venue teams, this is completely possible!

Bridebook has thousands of exceptional wedding venues with many of them offering virtual tours and show rounds. Get comfortable, open a bottle of wine and explore the delights of stunning venues across the country from your very own living room. When you enquire with venues, make sure to ask if they can offer a virtual show round – some are even using Facetime! We’d also advise you to keep an eye out for venues listing 360 tours. 

6. Booking Suppliers

Again, this is something super fun which you can enjoy within the comfort of your own home. Keep reaching out to suppliers, as many are offering virtual services such as delivering tasting samples or pre-recorded videos – whilst unconventional, this can absolutely become a fun night-in with your partner.

Invite your friends and family to a Zoom call where you watch a number of wedding bands until you find your perfect match. How about ordering in some sample cake boxes for taste testing with your partner? Or even get creative and create your ideal wedding make-up, by following different tutorials available online.

7. The Little Things

Make the most of these dark cold months by getting on top of all the small tasks which will make your wedding wonderful. There are so many little things that you will need for your big day and now is the time to start a list. This might be thinking about gifts for your bridesmaids and page boys or wedding favours for guests. You could even get into some DIY and make some crafts yourself such as name cards, signs or photo boards for the day itself.

8. Enjoy your Engagement!

Weddings are incredibly special. It is important to enjoy this experience, together. Take some well deserved time off before you are rushed back to the speed of ‘normality’. Go for long walks, cook some delicious food, read a few books and most of all embrace having the love of your life by your side!

Looking for some more wedding planning tips? Check out our other wedding articles below.

How to plan your wedding remotely

Post-quarantine wedding trends

Why having a weekday wedding can be the best decision you make

Top tips for having a 15 person wedding (or ceremini)

Amazing deals and discounts for couples

Happy Planning!