The idea of being stuck at home can seem unappealing and can definitely bring your wedding planning to a sudden halt. But being forced to slow down while you’re at home doesn’t mean you can’t be productive. You might be surprised to learn just how much you can check off your wedding planning checklist while you’re on the couch. No matter where you are in the process, here are five wedding tasks you can do from home.
1. Finalize your guest list.
Whether you’re just starting or are a few months into wedding planning, you’ll quickly realize how important your guest list is. You’ll need it to find the right venue, write thank you notes, and send out your save the dates and invitations. When you’re at home, here are a few guest list to-dos you can work on:
- Create an A and B list
- Do a review of who’s in and who’s out
- Complete addresses for all your guests
- Track RSVPs
2. Create your wedding registry.
Being stuck at home is the perfect time to check off another important to do on your wedding checklist: your wedding registry. It makes you more aware of your home’s current inventory. You can easily pinpoint items that need to be replaced and figure out what you’re missing. So, if you find yourself reaching for a luxe blanket to curl up with on the couch or an ice cream bowl for your stand mixer, then now’s the time to add it to your wedding registry!
3. Virtually meet with your vendors.
Ideally, you want to meet with your wedding vendors in person. But realistically and logistically, that’s not always feasible. You may be planning a destination wedding, finishing graduate school, or working crazy hours which make it almost impossible to meet with vendors in person. The wonderful news is that thanks to video technology, like Zoom, FaceTime, and Skype, you can select all your vendors virtually…yes, even vendors like your venue, florist, caterer, bakery, and attire!
Venue
Venues now have virtual tours where their venue coordinator walks you around the space. What’s great about these tours is that it gives you an idea of how it feels to move around the different spaces. Since your ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception can all be in different spaces, you want to make sure everything flows together.
Florist
Florists can still create physical examples of arrangements and share layouts and designs with you on a video call. If you’re someone who prefers to see things in person and you live in the same area as your florist, you can arrange to do a curbside pick-up of example arrangements.
Caterer
For your caterer, talk to them about the possibility of doing a food delivery or curbside pick-up. Once you have the food, hop on a video call with them. Have them walk you through the dishes. You still get the experience of trying the food, asking questions, and giving them feedback in real time. Though the plating may not look as picture-perfect as it will on your wedding day, ask them to share photos of the plated dishes on the video call.
If you aren’t in the same area as your caterer, do a video call with the catering manager to begin creating your menu. Use this time to share your likes and dislikes, how you envision cocktail hour going, and the service style for your reception. Allow your caterer to use this to create a proposed menu for your actual tasting one you’re able to meet with them in person.
Bakery
In an effort to help couples continue to move forwarding in the vendor selection process, many bakeries have introduced tasting boxes. These samples boxes of cake and other desserts allow you to try the bakery’s cakes and icings without having an in-person meeting. Bakeries are offering these through non-contact delivery or pick-up and a few are even overnighting these treat boxes to clients.
Attire
Online shopping for everyday clothes is a normal thing. When it comes to shopping for a wedding dress, going in-person to a bridal salon is the most popular option for brides. As schedules change and life takes on a different rhythm, that doesn’t mean you can’t try on dresses from the comfort of your own couch! Advances in technology have enabled many bridal salons to offer virtual try on services. Upload a photo of yourself in the mirror and select the gown you want to “try on”. Viola! you can instantly see what you look like in a dress.
Trying on wedding dresses is one of the most exciting wedding planning tasks. Part of the dress buying experience is being surrounded the important ladies in your life, but doing things virtually doesn’t mean you have to miss out on that either. Do a screen share with your mom and bridesmaids so they can watch you try on the dresses. Just make sure everyone has a glass of bubbly close by to celebrate the moment you say “YES!” to a dress.
4. Design a wedding website.
Wedding websites are an easy, efficient way to communicate information to your guests, especially if any of the details are up in the air. Knowing it’s the central communication platform for your guests, make sure it’s as complete as possible. Now’s the time check off one more wedding to-do by finally completing all the pages on your wedding website. This extra time means you can fill out the “The Story of Us” page, your wedding party bios, and upload photos of you and your fiancé.
5. Write letters to your guests.
Extra personal touches make all the difference to your guests, especially when it’s a handwritten letter. Instead of a traditional wedding favor, use this time to pen a thank you card to place at each guest’s place setting. Or write a note for their welcome gift. This unexpected touch will mean the world to them! And if you’ve been procrastinating on doing your thank you notes, take advantage of the time at home to sit down and get caught up on your thank you notes.
Jenna Tracy is the owner of Jenna Tracy Events, a wedding planning firm based in the Philadelphia area, serving the East Coast and beyond. Day to day, she helps brides design and coordinate weddings that anchor their love story in timeless tradition. She takes the to-do off your plate so you can rest in your engagement. Though she doesn’t believe your wedding day is the best day of your life, she believes it’s the most important, which is why you deserve space to focus on creating a sound foundation for your marriage.
When she’s not working with couples to curate their wedding day details, she’s planning her next travel adventure with her husband and refining her Italian, while munching on a meat & cheese board and watching anything royalty-related.
