So many couples are considering the ways to still get married, or hold a special celebration on what would have been their special day. Going through the motions of how this will look and feel with an obvious sense of disappointment that the day you have ever so carefully planned is no longer for a few more months is hard but, have in your mind that the good news is, you can still have your beautiful wedding in the very near future.
If you are in the mix of wedding planning or arranging a new date, I can’t imagine that the concept of a virtual wedding has gone without being noticed.
If you are anything like me, you may have been glued to your phone as couples Emma Louise Connolly and her fiancé Oliver Proudlock celebrated, what would have been their big day in true romantic style in their garden dressed in 70’s chic outfits with an endless supply of champagne and dancing … it looked as perfect!
So, for all of you who are looking to celebrate love in your own way, at home… here are some suggestions of how you can make your day incredibly special.
A virtual wedding, even if it’s a temporary placeholder for the real thing, is a great alternative to postponing or cancelling. Especially for couples who have older family members who want to ensure witness their marriage in some shape or form.
Hosting a Virtual wedding
There are several different platforms that you can choose from for your virtual wedding. Zoom is the most popular video conferencing tool for weddings you can set a laptop where guests face you both and the officiant who is marrying you (socially distanced of course).
The simplest way way to invite your guests is via e-vite or email—and this is in keeping with the celebration and you should include how the day is planned so, they know what to expect when and what to have prepared for example, you may want a sing along, have a dress code, you may want everyone to cheers with a signature drink, you may want your speeches to take place as they would have so, keeping your guests up to speed on what is to come is key.
If you have access to a garden, consider creating an outside ceremony; you could also make your bouquets from flowers you have growing in your garden – if this doesn’t seem like a possible idea then you could look at getting flowers delivered as so many independent florists are working so hard to keep their businesses alive during this time, that could not only be a really wonderful way of making your day pretty but also helps a small business owner out. Yorkshire brides, check out Campbells Flowers and Leafy Couture.
Looking the part is also key so, you may be a wizz at doing your own make up or, if you need help, so many make-up artists are doing online tutorials to help you get that perfect look from home. Check out Cat Johnson or Victoria Farr.
Capturing the celebration for me, is essential so, you should ask your chosen photographer if they can help? If that isn’t something they can do, check out Tim Dunk he is going a really cool online photography package.
As the day progresses, you need to have a perfectly curated wedding playlist so you and your partner can continue after the ceremony. Many MCs are willing and able to participate in virtual weddings and can treat it like a typical wedding day with some adjustments. You could look at having a separate chat capability enabled with your MC so that they can help guide this process and give your guests the same experience as if they were watching a wedding on television.
It’s important to make sure that the infrastructure is set up on whatever platform you are using and ensure that the link is sent to key parties, including the officiant, any loved ones participating in the ceremony, as well as a witness (which is legally required but your officiant will fill you in on the details linking to your specific arrangements).
I would suggest that the officiant, witness, and any other key players sign on 10 minutes prior to start time. All other guests are left in the waiting room until the ceremony begins.
When you are ready for your guests keep them un-muted so they can greet each other and then when the ceremony starts mute them so only the officiant and you, the couple are allowed to be heard.
You may want your guests to speak during the ceremony so, remember to un-mute them. As well as this, you may have points within the ceremony where you would like your guests to contribute in some way so, ask your officiant to tell the guests prior that they will briefly be un-muted so that they can take part.
Following the ceremony, the old age very pretty tradition the confetti throw takes place so, as it will be the two of you, you could let off confetti cannons high in the air so you get the confetti effect on your wedding photos.
Cutting the cake for some couples is a must others, not so much. If you wanted to cut the wedding cake after the ceremony you could source a local baker or make it yourself!
You may find that after this point, you want to get stuck into some champagne and delicious food just the two of you so, make sure the fridge is stocked and that catering has been taken care of… no one wants to be cooking on their wedding day.
“Making the decision to postpone our wedding waa naturally a really difficult and emotional decision, having an experienced professional with us throughout made us confident that we were doing the right thing. We would have been massively at sea without Rosie to advise us. Similarly, after making the decision, without her support, we wouldn’t have been able to organize having the day we want in 2021. Her experience and help in this time has been invaluable. We would have been totally lost without her!”
— 2020 couple James & Katie who have had to reschedule to 2021.
I would love to see more of you at home celebrations so, please take photos and tag @rosiegreenevents on Instagram!
Rosie x
07922 615755
info@rosiegreenevents.com