When we got engaged a little over a year ago I had no idea that I would write a blog about how to plan a wedding in 6 months during a lockdown in Germany. But here I am and I really hope that this blog will be helpful for you when you are planning your wedding no matter if it is during a lockdown or not. At the beginning of this process the pandemic had just started and I had no idea what ride I was in for.
I must say though that our wedding was a total miracle and felt like we were under some sort of protective cloud. It definitely did not feel like a Covid 19 wedding. I am so glad we chose not to cancel.
Before we get into the process of planning let me just preface that I always wanted an engagement ranging between 6 and 9 months because I didn’t want to be engaged for too long. That is why my time frame for planning a wedding is custom made for planning a wedding in 6 months and we also planned our wedding during the lockdown. I will tell you a little bit more about how to plan a wedding in 6 months during a lockdown after I give you the general direction.
How to plan a wedding in 6 months
I always start with a pinterest board to throw in any ideas and any pictures that can be helpful. It is mostly inspiration for colors, texture, mood or links I want to remember for later. For me this pinterest board is especially important at the beginning to give me a general direction but then I move on from it to make the wedding personal and completely my style.
Once I knew the direction and mood I made a mood board containing all the colors for the wedding and the general feel of the wedding. We decided that the words we wanted our wedding to feel like were ROMANTIC, SOFT WITH A SIMPLE ELEGANCE and the colors I wanted were white, cream, ivory, peach and nude. I also wanted it to feel like we were in the mediterranean and have a bit of a boho touch. For us it was important to simply gather our closest family and friends around the table and allow for a relaxed day with lots of time for connection especially because of the year we were in.
The important thing that I told myself and every bride I planned a wedding for is to stick to those things and not get distracted by pinterest. It is so easy to see dozens of cool ideas and wanting to put them all in the wedding but it will just be too much and it will overwhelm your guests. I try to really stick to the mood board to keep myself on track. And less is always more in that case.
Next in order to plan a wedding on time is to make a time table. I spit mine into 6 months before the wedding, 4-5 months, 3 months, 1-2 months, 30 days before the wedding. Then I filled it out with the things that needed to be done within this time frame.
Here are some things I did 6 months before the wedding:
- Confirm the venue
- Make a guest list
- Send out save the dates (we went for a digital save the date that we sent out via whatsapp)
- Find a photographer
About 4-5 months before the wedding we
- Sent out invitations
- Started looking for a caterer
- Planned our honeymoon
1-2 months before the wedding we
- We planned all the decorations and flowers
- Went cake testing and ordered a cake
- Planned and had all the prewedding parties (I had a bridal shower, a bachelorette party and threw a bridal tea for my girls.)
30 days before the wedding is all about filling in the details and making sure you don’t forget anything. And the plan was no wedding planning the week of the wedding which worked out pretty well.
I always try to only work on the things within the time frame to not get distracted. This especially goes for everyone loving to dive into decorations and details like flowers and all. But I find that working on the big important things first and then coming to the little details helps you stay focused and sane during this process. I did not work on flowers, decorations or anyhting like that until 1-3 months before the wedding. That was also possible because we did everything ourselves and only rented a few items. There was also no crafting involved because I only wanted candles and flowers and pretty table runners.
I wanted the wedding to feel like people were entering my home, gathering around my table. That is what keeps it very personal.
Originally my good friend was going to come and do my bouquet but because of travel restrictions and timing and quarantine wise it did not work out. But I ended up finding a great vendor for the flowers which I will tell you all about next week.
Now here are a few things I did because of the lockdown that were a little different than planning our wedding in general.
How to plan a wedding in 6 months during a lockdown
- We had backup plans for everything.
- I would suggest getting the dress as early as possible. It was a pure miracle I got my dress. You can read the story here
- Because of the lockdown there were certain things I couldn’t plan for quite a while so I worked on everything I could work on like ordering all the little details and working on these while I had to wait for things to open up again. Therefore my general time table was a bit more mixed up. But if there is one thing we were taught last year it is flexibility.
And here is a little extra tip for those of you who are planning a wedding by yourself right now.
Don’t make every meeting with your future spouse a planning session. Enjoy each other. Enjoy the season you are in. You only get this season once as a couple together. Make the most of it. Dream together, talk about the future and the big topics. Get premarital counseling. Talk more about the big topics, your dreams for the future and your expectations for marriage.
Here a few extra links that helped me in my planning
Everything you need to know about invitations
Ideas for the week of the wedding
Well friends I hope this was helpful for you. Let me know if you have any questions or need more details.
Much love
Ramona
*All pictures are by Judit Maier photography and she is amazing!
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