Being in the bridal business is fulfilling for so many reasons, but perhaps one of the most gratifying moments is getting to be a champion for brides through the journey to their big day. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged many brides and couples during what is meant to be such a special time in their lives. While we always setout to comfort our brides and show support, we realize the unknowns of COVID are more than just our team can navigate. So with that in mind, we reached out to our community! Our family that is navigating this pandemic right along with you and know exactly what words will soothe and help you prepare for your big day…pandemic or not. Without further ado let’s see what advice our brides had to offer!
HAVE MORE THAN ONE PLAN – One of the most frequent answers when we asked our brides for planning tips was to make sure to have multiple plans!
- “Have a plan A and a plan B, even a plan C. It helped me feel prepared/excited for whatever.” – Alison Haddon
- “Get comfortable with a Plan A B C D E F and G.” – Mary Byrnes
TRY KEEPING PERSPECTIVE (p.s. we know it’s hard!) – While it’s difficult, many of our past COVID brides urge future brides to try to keep in mind that the wedding isn’t the most important part…
- Stuart Hayhurst explains that COVID “forces focus on what matters most – the marriage, not the wedding. A hard/good blessing!”
- “It’s about getting MARRIED not the party. Be open minded to any level of celebration” – Reagan Shaffer
- “Take the hits one at a time, it may not be the wedding you originally envisioned, but it will be the perfect wedding for you and your partner, because at the end of the day, you’ll be getting married!” – Brandi Gary
View photos of Stuart, Reagan, and Brandi’s big days below!
USE COVID LIMITATIONS AS INSPIRATION – Make the most of having to do things differently! Sometimes COVID can be the best excuse to go the non-traditional route!
- “Let COVID be an excuse to do what you want, invite who you want, etc. without outside pressures.” – Cailin Becker
Cailin definitely followed that advice on her big day. Check out their beautiful and intimate mountain elopement below!
WINE HELPS – Leave it to our Annalise family to throw wine into the mix. Judging by the amount of wine answers we got, it just felt wrong to not include haha!
- “SO much is out of our control all you can really do is not stress, laugh, and drink wine.” – Carolina Manotas
Cheers to you, COVID brides! We have your back and so do our #AnnaliseRealBrides.
Regan – Erinn Schaal
Brandi – J&D Photo
Stuart – Patricia Lyons Photography
Cailin – Hannah Baldwin
