How to celebrate what would have been your wedding day!

Let’s face it….2020 weddings aren’t going to happen the way we planned them. In Ontario the gathering limits are nowhere near being close to being raised to have even a micro wedding and most couples have decided to postpone to 2021 with their fingers crossed we will be able to gather together without limits.

But…what do you do on what should have been your wedding day?
Should it be ignored and treated like any other day?
Or should you honour the occasion and celebrate what should have been?

I say celebrate and create a day that is fun and meaningful, full of memories, and something you can look back on fondly.

Here are some ideas to help you plan your What Would Have Been Our Wedding Day celebration:

Make a cake together or order one in
This is a great opportunity to bake a cake together, learn some new skills and enjoy your creation as you make some new wishes for you wedding and married life.

Play your wedding music and enjoy your first dance at home
You chose your songs for a reason – don’t hide them away while you wait!  Watch some dance lessons on Youtube and practice your first dance at home!

Dress up and make it special – have a photo shoot in your home or backyard
Use this opportunity to get even more fantastic photos of the two of you with a professional photographer. Porch Portraits are all the rage and can be done from a safe distance. Wear your wedding outfits or come up with something funky and fun – the possibilities are endless!

Pop the champagne and have a toast to the two you and what is yet to come
Even though you aren’t getting married right now, there’s no reason you can’t celebrate how far you have come, that you have made it through Covid-19 together, and anticipate all that is yet to come.

Practice making your signature cocktail
Most weddings I attend have at least one signature cocktail available at the bar – now is the time to practice making them and perfect your recipe!

Write love letters to each other and say your vows
You’ve made it this far, why not write love letters letting you both know what you mean to each other, what you love about each other, and what you are looking forward to.  You can also recite your vows to each other to practice saying them with emotions swirling.

Have a video call with your loved ones to have champagne and toast what would have been
Zoom has been a such a great tool during our shared Coronavirus experience and there’s no reason you can’t celebrate with your friends and family with a zoom call!  Send out an invitation, let your loved ones know what to wear and what to have on hand – bubbly for sure – and have a fun evening of toasts, speeches, and a dance party!

Pop a white tent on your lawn and sit back drinking champagne while your friends and family have a drive by wedding parade for you
Your friends and family want to celebrate you – so why not make it easy for them!  Let them know you will be sitting out front at a certain time so they can drive by to honk and wave to you. Drink your champagne and enjoy all the love coming your way!

Have a special meal and make it romantic
Skip the cooking and order in a special meal from a local restaurant. Get out your good china and fancy glasses, set up a sweetheart table with flowers and candles and enjoy a romantic dinner while you make plans for your life together as a married couple.

Spend the day together making a scrapbook of your relationship you can continue to build on and bring to your wedding for everyone to enjoy
Gather all of your digital photos and print them off to create a scrapbook of your life together so far. Leave some blank pages to fill in over the time you wait for your wedding day to arrive. Bring your scrapbook to your wedding and have it on display with your guestbook for everyone to look through and enjoy. You could even create a little dinner quiz and ask your guests questions about where you met, where you vacationed last, your dog’s name etc.

If presents have been arriving, open a few and put them to good use
If your guest room or basement is full of wedding gifts…why not open a few of them now and put them to good use? You can also get a jump on writing your Thank You cards and store them until your wedding.  

Have an online Commitment Ceremony while your Zoomed guests watch!
Even though online wedding ceremonies are not legal in Canada…there’s no reason you cant have an online commitment ceremony!  As an Officiant I often do Commitment Ceremonies in person when a couple can’t get married but they want to have a wedding style event for their loved ones. This ceremony uses no legal language, but sounds and feels very similar to a regular wedding ceremony. Gather your Officiant, friends, and family, and host your own online Commitment Ceremony!

Mini wedding with zoomed guests
Of course you can always go ahead and get married anyway in mini wedding your loved ones can enjoy on zoom. I have been creating lovely packages for couples who get to choose any of these options:  ceremony, flowers, décor, music, champagne, dinner for 2 (and all of your zoom guests!), wedding cake, and tutorials by local hair and makeup artists to help you create the look you want as your own glam squad.

I am currently helping couples create mini wedding experiences in their own backyards so they can get legally married on their 2020 date, celebrate with their friends and family members, and have a great story to tell! Message me to get the planning started!

You might also like…
How to Tell Your Guests You Are Going Ahead…Without Them
Mini Weddings in the Midst of Covid
Parental Estrangement and Wedding Drama
So What The Heck is a Wedding Coach?
Wedding Postponement Announcement Ideas
Holiday and Off Season Wedding Inspiration
Covid and Weddings – What to do?