Well shoot, you’re here - you’ve been planning and dreaming of your big day for months and then all of a sudden COVID-19 happened and everything came to a screeching halt. Or maybe you’re newly engaged and had just started planning your wedding – we feel you too! With so much uncertainty surrounding if or when events on a large scale will resume, one of the major questions left on your mind may be “Well, now what?” Should we cancel or postpone? Should we head to the courthouse with a few of our closest family members and friends or plan a simple backyard affair? With so many questions in an already stressful situation now being amplified even more, what once was a vision of a big celebration set against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, a chic downtown venue, or something in between may feel like a fleeting memory. Although your wedding may not *quite* be what you had originally envisioned, if you plan to move forward instead of postponing, you can still have many of the elements incorporated into your big day. Then once all this craziness is over and you can be with loved ones again, throw that epic wedding reception just as you had originally planned! What am I talking about here? How about eloping or taking it to the next level with a virtual wedding? Hello Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, or Facetime?!?
Whatever path you choose to move forward with, your floral vision can still be one of the many details of your day. While you may not need all of those bridesmaid bouquets, groomsmen boutonnieres, or centerpieces (for now!), you can highlight the areas of your elopement or virtual wedding by incorporating a few floral accents or big statement pieces in addition to your bouquet and boutonniere. Depending on your location, a floral arch can be a beautiful backdrop to frame you as you say, “I do” and capture those amazing photos. If a floral arch isn’t your thing, you can incorporate a hanging installation, or some unique vases filled with textural flower blooms and greenery placed near a fireplace or brick wall accented with candles or your monogram. After your wedding, you can keep your bouquet and boutonniere by preserving the whole thing, or choosing just a few special blooms and sprigs of greenery to preserve and put in a keepsake box or time capsule. Another option to pay your love forward is to donate your centerpieces after that epic reception to local nursing homes or hospitals. Flowers just have a way of bringing joy and a smile to those in their presence.
All of us in the wedding and event industry are certainly feeling the impacts of whatever our new normal will look like and we want nothing more than to support and be there for all our current and potential couples. We’ve teamed up with a few other vendors, some of the best in the industry, to help you navigate other aspects of your elopement or virtual wedding.
My personal opinion is that planners are worth their weight in gold so if you are able to include a planner in your day - do it! Natasha, owner of Sugar Willow Events, gives this advice – “Plan an elopement, keep the date, get the marriage license, and do the dang thing, but with style. Get married in your backyard. Get married on a mountain top, get married at the park down the street, get married anywhere that brings you joy, but preferably somewhere with Wi-Fi. I know this may not sound like your dream day but hear us out, we still want your wedding to be incredible!! Let's start with getting the word out, send out an elopement invitation to your guests explaining that you love them to pieces and can't wait to celebrate with them at your big reception celebration later this year or in 2021.”
Cristy, owner of Lucky Onion says “You’ve decided you will do a virtual elopement so that your friends and family can share in this excitement. Now, we need to tell the world the news with stationery! I recommend making an invitation, announcing your elopement and inviting your guests to your virtual wedding. We will make sure to include an insert card for instructions on how to work the virtual technicals, especially for grandma and grandpa and those less technically savvy. Your virtual elopement invitations will keep the same formalities as that of a normal wedding invitation, with your instructions looking a lot like your Details Card. Your response cards will serve as “well wishes” cards. Your guests will be able to write a note of love, support, advice, and joy, which can serve as beautiful keepsakes in your album later on. Other ideas could involve asking your guests to share how they met you, words of wisdom, or even a note for your time capsule. Have fun with this!”
And of course, you need an amazing photographer/videographer to capture this incredible moment. Cat, owner of Studio Lemus Photo and Video gives a great perspective – “Whatever you choose, know that it will be awesome and you’ll get to marry your person. At the end of the day, that’s the best part. You can choose to say I Do at the top of a mountain or in front of Union Station at sunrise, whatever makes you happy (just get a permit if needed). It’s a chance to have an intimate start to your marriage and get ridiculously beautiful wedding photos ... which you can of course then use to send a “We got married” announcement to your favorite people. Plus if you bring a videographer you can get a highlight film and do a champagne virtual watch party later.”
To read Natasha, Cristy, and Cat’s full blog on eloping and virtual weddings, click on their links below:
To all of our current and prospective couples – my heart goes out to you all in this time of uncertainty. The grace and understanding you’ve all shown when dealing with this um, well…unique and ever-changing time has made me even more honored to be a small part in your big day. We are here for you and ready to assist in any way we can – we got this – together!
Much love,
Sarah
Bellagala Photography
