Lessons From A Pandemic Bride.

Hello. I’m Meg, and I’m a pandemic bride.

Having originally sent out invitations for a May 2020 wedding day, our plans were all thrown up in the air when Corona came to town. Since then, we’ve moved our big day TWICE. Luckily, we managed to grab a registry office booking just before the November lockdown, so the legal “I do”s were happily taken care of with a super small wedding party of six. 

Now, as we prepare for our much-postponed and long-awaited big event, I’m looking back at what I’ve learned. 

Spreadsheets are your friend.

The more tabs, the better, honey. This was my secret weapon for staying organised. From guests’ dietary deets to keeping on top of our budget, there wasn’t a single wedding-related task that didn’t go through the sheet. 

Pro tip: using a shared spreadsheet like a Google Sheet meant me and my fiancé could both update things as we went, especially as restrictions changed through 2020 and 2021. Can’t recommend it enough!

Come rain or shine.

I always thought I’d be gutted if the heavens opened on my wedding day. However, if you’d told me in March 2020, when my dream day was indefinitely postponed, that it could go ahead but only with torrential rain, I’d have grabbed that opportunity with both hands!

As I write this, with four days until my big day finally comes around, the forecast is looking pretty grey. Do I care? Not one tiny bit. Bring it on – we’ll have a phenomenal time regardless!

There is more than one way to do ‘perfect’.

There’s a lot of pressure for the big day to be, ahem, ‘perfect’. But what does that even mean?

We can stress ourselves out looking for perfection. Ultimately, if you’ve found something that brings you joy, roll with that, rather than worrying about whether you can find something better. This goes for venues, flowers, invitations, and yes even the dress!

Get it all in writing.

We were lucky: our suppliers were all able to stay afloat through lockdowns and move our bookings. But we still always made sure to confirm everything in writing – prices, times, everything we were expecting – in case something went belly-up.

Follow up every phone call with an email, and if worst comes to worst you have proof of your agreement.

What really matters?

Why are you getting married? If the answer is some version of ‘to commit to the person I love’, then that’s the most important thing! So long as that’s sorted, the rest can be put in its place.

Sure – the venue, guests, food, and décor are all important, as is making sure everyone has a fabulous time. But you and your fiancé are there to celebrate your love. Everything else is just decoration.

After 18 months of weddings being postponed, scaled back, or even cancelled altogether, there’s a lot to be said for just being happy it can go ahead!

Photography by Ellie Rhodes

To any other pandemic brides out there still waiting for your trip down the aisle – stay strong. Your day will come, and it will be glorious! As my gorgeous Grandma always tells me… love will find a way.

Oh, and look after your hands. After such a long wait, you want your hands to look silky smooth in all your wedding pics. Luckily, I know of some luxurious soaps that can take care of that..!

Get your hands in top condition before your big day with our super rich soap bars.