In these uncertain times, I know for some brides it can feel as if wedding planning has come to a halt, so besides booking any other needed vendors, I wanted to come up with a list of wedding tasks you can do from home right now! Some of these things, most brides don’t think about until their wedding date gets closer, but that’s usually when things becomes more stressful as all of these details and little decisions pile up. So the more you can get out of the way now, the better off, and the less stressed you will be!!!💕

 

1. SOLIDIFY YOUR WEDDING DAY TIMELINE This is a super important part of your wedding planning, so be sure to discuss this with your wedding photographer and planner if you have one. There are a lot of different factors that need to be taken into consideration when determining the wedding day timeline, so it is important to discuss that with them before setting any times in stone. Your timeline dictates the feel, the lighting, and the flow of the wedding day, so we want to make sure that everything is taken into consideration to make things are as stress free as possible!

 

2. DECIDE CEREMONY DECOR

This is great to discuss with your florist if you have not booked one already and plan to use one. You can decide if you want an arbor, anything on the chairs, along the aisle, if you want an aisle runner, etc. Some ceremony floral decor pieces can then be brought into the reception during cocktail hour to be used for decor in there as well, which is definitely more cost effective, as well as makes for more use out of the beautiful floral arrangements.

 

3. DETERMINE CEREMONY ORDER

This is a great time to decide if the bridesmaids will walk down with groomsmen or if the groomsmen will already be at the altar waiting, so the bridesmaids would then walk down alone. Then you can decide the order of line; writing a list of their names or the pairs in order. Then decide the flow of the ceremony if you would like any special readings, if so, then what would be read and by who. This is a unique way of letting other loved ones play a special role in the ceremony.

 

4.DECIDE CEREMONY SONGS

Think about what songs you would like to be played during the ceremony, for the bridal party walking down the aisle, if you’d like a different one for when the bride, walks down. There can also be special songs performed during the ceremony, which is great if you have a live vocalist or instrumentalist. Also decide if there is a song you want played right after the kiss, when you walk up the aisle as husband and wife!Being someone who loves music and has sung at many weddings,  I just believe music adds a very special touch to weddings that people underestimate. It just gives everyone all the feels and can help truly hone people in, have them engaged, present, and mindful of the gravity of what is really happening. If someone you know is already coming to the wedding, who you know has musical talent, I would ask them, and most performers would be honored. Also, if you personally are a vocalist, you could sing to your spouse at the ceremony or if you are someone like me, who knows you’ll cry if you tried to do that live, you could pre-record yourself. I did that for my wedding day and secretly recorded the song I was walking down the aisle to at a studio, so that on the wedding day it would be me singing as I was coming down the aisle, but a surprise to my husband.

 

5.DETERMINE RECEPTION ORDER OF EVENTS

I usually suggest the couple does the entrance of their parents, bridal party, them, and then they go right into their first dance. Then they do their mother son, father-daughter dance. After that, everyone sits down, they go right into speeches as the food is about to be served, cut the cake if they planned to, and then they can just enjoy dinner with all of the formalities out of the way. Then after dinner, the dance floor is opened, no interruptions, and everyone is ready to party!

You will need to create your list of the names of your bridal party, with phonetics, for the DJ or MC to read off during the entrances. So you can even create the order of that, who is walking in with who, with their name wrote out phonetically, so that it is ready to go for the DJ. Some of theses details may not be solidified yet, but at least creating a bare bones list of what you can is better than starting from scratch when its close to the wedding.

 

6. CREATE YOUR MUST HAVE RECEPTION SONG LIST

If you know there are songs you definitely want your DJ to play, then make a list. Decide each song for your special dances and honestly decide if you want to shorten any of them because some songs can be very long and for people who get more nervous having the spotlight on them, this could be overwhelming if the song keeps going on and on. Also, decide if you want to do a fun, surprise dance with your boo, or special family member. I saw this done with a bride and her dad and it was super cute!  💕⁣

Here is a list for great songs to keep people on the dance floor!  And of course, if you have a great DJ, you probably don’t need to overthink this.

 

7. DECIDE YOUR WEDDING FAVORS

After you decided what your wedding favors will be, then you can do any DIY elements to them if they require you to do so. For example, if you decided to do Del’s lemonade cups as a favor, you can just make the labels now, and even put them on the cups so that they are ready to go on the wedding day. Or if you wanted to do a donut table from a special donut company you love, you can inquire to book with them, as well as determine how the donuts will be displayed, which then you could go ahead and buy or rent those pieces as well. Again, it’s these little details and pieces that if you can get them out of the way now, the less stressful it will be leading up to your special day.

 

8. DETERMINE DECORATIVE PIECES AND TABLES

Think about the different decorative tables you may want to have in the foyer of the ceremony or reception, with custom signs, and any elements you may want to put on them. You can start to collect and gather all of those items; whether its the piece you are using for guests to sign, pictures and the frames you want displayed, candles, etc. I have seen a lot of people make a table of special loved ones that passed away that couldn’t be there, so you can pick out and print the picture(s), as well as put them in frames. Also, if you know the way you would like of all of the items on a table to be displayed, you could do a mock set it up, then take a picture of it, so whoever you designate on your wedding day to set it up, they will know how you would like it to look.

 

9. PICK BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES

If you haven’t determined bridesmaid dress style and colors yet, this would be a good time to solidify that and have your bridesmaids order theirs if you can. If you haven’t gone into a store yet, I really love the color options Birdy Grey offers and they will send you 3 color swatches. Their dresses are more affordable and allow for different designs of the same color if you plan to do that with your bridesmaids,  so they could order theirs online.

10. DECIDE WHAT SEATING CHART YOU WILL USE

There are so many unique ways of letting guests know where they are seated, so figuring out what you will use is important. Here is a list of seating chart ideas ! After you decide which idea you would like, you then will be able to either buy, make, or rent the pieces. Any element that you personally would need to make, you could try to do everything, but the names if your guest list isn’t solidified yet. Doing what you can now, will just save you so much time when your wedding day gets closer because there are usually so many details and things that pop up as the big day approaches.

11.  DETERMINE GIFTS AND WRITE LETTERS

If you haven’t decided what you want to buy your groom and bridesmaids, now may be a good time to decide and purchase if you can. You then can also write a love note to your groom, as well as write cards for your bridesmaids, groomsmen, family members, or if you are having an intimate ceremony, you can write letters to every guest. If you want to write them in a card format, then ordering some cards online would be another task you would need to do beforehand.

12. WRITE YOUR VOWS

If you do decide you want to write your own vows, it would be a great time to start working on them! Even if you both decide you don’t want to read them in front of everyone at the ceremony, you can maybe create a special moment on the wedding day when you do it alone together. There is something so sweet and powerful about documenting this season in time and articulating in words how much your person means to you. Having written vows and making promises in writing, keeps you grounded and accountable as the years go on in marriage. It gives you a foundation to go back to and will help you get back to that place if you ever get off track.

So I hope that helped give you a some ideas of some wedding tasks you can work on during this challenging point in time! I didn’t want to do too many and cause overwhelm. Whether your wedding date is postponed or stays the same, you should be able to work on all of these if you haven’t already done so. If anyone has any other ideas, feel free to comment them below!!!

Please stay safe and hope that you can find some joy in the midst of all of this uncertainty!

Much joy,

Charity HOPE