Wedding Planning in 2021

Wedding Planning in 2021 can be overwhelming to say the least. The pandemic threw the wedding industry upside down in 2020. Every state handled large gatherings differently. In Georgia, large gatherings were prohibited for a few months. By the summer of 2020, gatherings started to happen again with some restrictions. Large gatherings in Georgia are currently allowed and the wedding planning has started back in full swing!

What changes are couples making during the pandemic?

The main difference I saw as a wedding photographer in Atlanta, GA during the pandemic was the reduced guest count. Most traditional weddings were around 75 people. The couples who chose to reduce their guest count were thrilled that they were able to spend time with everyone they invited. When there are more than 100 people in a building, it is difficult to say hello much less have a meaningful conversation with each person.

All weddings I shot during 2020 had sanitation stations providing masks for all of their family and friends. This was not only a courtesy but mandatory for some wedding venues. Each business handles the pandemic restrictions differently based on how they operate their business. It is important to carefully consider their COVID guidelines before booking so you know what to expect!

Some couples decide to elope and party later. Others vouch for an elopement and bought a house with the cash they saved! This saved them the headache of wondering what kind of restrictions could possibly effect their plans. An elopement only involves a handful of people so

 

What type of experience do you want your wedding day to be? Intimate, or a party?

You should ask yourselves what type of experience do you want your wedding day to be. The traditional wedding experience and the elopement experience are two completely different days. One is super inclusive of your family and friends while the other is bringing the focus back to you and your love. There are certainly ways that you can have have super meaningful, intimate moments on a traditional wedding day! But an elopement is nothing but super meaningful intimate moments between the two of you. Deciding on this first will help you be super clear on what you were going to be looking for.

Here is an exercise you can do that will help you know EXACTLY you and your partner stand. Each of you take a piece of paper and PRIVATELY write down exactly what your dream wedding day looks like. What is around you? Who is there? Where is it? Play some music that means something to the two of you while you are doing this exercise. This will get your mind where it needs to be to dream up your vision. When you are finished, come back together and talk about what you wrote down. More than likely, your visions are going to be a bit different from each others.

You decided on an Elopement?

Elopements can happen anywhere in the world and are PANDEMIC PROOF (as long as they are local). The sky is the limit! Many elopement photographers will help you plan your elopement. All the details like, locations, day of timeline, permits needed, and other vendors you will need can be provided through your photographer. Not all photographers operate in this way so you will need to do some searching for the elopement photographer that will meet your individual needs. I provide my couples full service elopement packages!

Wedding planning during a pandemic immediately becomes 99% less stressful once you choose an elopement. The old school way of thinking is that an elopement is for the people running away from something. If you mean running away from stress then you are 100% correct! The term elopement used to be knows as running away in secrecy in get married. NOW elopements mean that you are putting the focus back on you and your partner. Elopements done RIGHT is an experience filled with intentional, special moments. It can even have a similar flow to a traditional wedding, and can include a handful of people like your parents. OR it can be JUST about you two. Full day elopement experiences are my specialty.

No matter where you decide to elope, there are beautiful locations in every state. Long Creek Falls is a beautiful location in Blue Ridge, Georgia!

So you and your partner decided on a traditional wedding including family and friends! Now the question is guest count?

So you and your honey decided on a Traditional wedding! Now you have to decide what your total guest count is going to be. This is the hard part. When we are used to seeing hundreds of friends on our Facebook account it can seem as if we have a lot more relationships than we actually have. Ouch that might’ve stung a little bit. The truth is we have busy lives and we make time for people who are special to us. That doesn’t mean that we don’t love the people that we don’t see on a regular basis right? Absolutely. However, there are ways that you can narrow down your friends and family list to invite by a simple question. In 3 to 5 years from now who are you still going to be in contact with? We connect with a lot of coworkers and a lot of friends from college and sometimes that friendship does not become long term friendship and that’s ok! That simple question can help you narrow down your guest count.

 

Having a traditional wedding at a vineyard, industrial wedding venue, or a modern wedding venue all offer completely different aesthetics.. This is where Pinterest comes into play YAY FOR PINTEREST WEDDING PLANNING! This is where you get to just let yourself dream and make a dream wedding board to see what type of aesthetic you are drawn to.

Check out my Elopement Planning in GA blog next!

If you need help bringing your wedding day vision to life, lets chat!

xoxo Hannah