Pandemic Bride-to-Be
Hey Babes!
To say these past couple of months have been crazy is an understatement! The craziest thing about the whole situation is that it is impacting everyone! The wedding world is no exception. There are so many stories of brides and grooms having to make plans to accommodate ever changing guidelines and restrictions or cancelling weddings all together.
Since this is affecting so many of our own brides, we thought we would reach out to one of our WB Babes and get her take on this and see how she is handling being a bride-to-be during the pandemic.
Allow us to introduce, #WBBride, Emily Noland! Emily was set to be married this past Saturday, May 2nd in her parent’s backyard in Fayetteville, Arkansa but because of COVID-19 she had to push back her date to August 1st! We know there are a lot of brides out there going through this same situation so we thought it would be helpful to hear “first hand” how a fellow bride-to be-is handling this uncertain time!
Photographer: Carter Rose Photography
WB: So Emily, what was the most difficult and easiest parts of postponing your wedding?
Emily: The most difficult part for me was postponing not only the wedding itself but also our engagement parties, bridal showers and my bachelorette party since all of these events were scheduled right when COVID-19 started.
I have to say the easiest part was rescheduling the date with all of our booked vendors – once we found out the stay-at-home was scheduled until mid April, I immediately picked up the phone, contacted all of our vendors to figure out the best date that would work best for them to postpone and that was the easiest part, postponing to our new date. All of our vendors were available except for our band but they were so accommodating and had a few other wonderful bands to choose from for our new date!
WB: How does your fiancé feel about having to postpone?
Emily: He was upset at first having to postpone as we have spent an entire year planning out our May 2nd wedding but he knows it was the best decision for us, our families, guests and our country postponing to a later date when everyone can attend the wedding healthy and well!
WB: Have you decided to change up anything about your wedding since you have a new date?
Emily: Since it will be August and warmer weather, we decided to add on a late night ice cream truck for the groom’s dessert and lots of port-a-cool fans for our ceremony and reception.
WB: Do you have any advice you would give any other brides in the same situation?
Emily: It’s okay to be upset – you have every right to share your emotions of feeling devastated, frustrated, angry, disappointed, and every emotion in between. In this situation, seek joy, comfort and celebration. Lean into the joy which surrounds the marriage you have been preparing for and seek comfort from friends and loved ones. They are cheering you on and will be there to celebrate with you when your day comes!
Also, remember that love is not canceled, especially during these uncertain times. Weddings are still alive and just because you are having to postpone your wedding to a later date doesn’t mean anything it’s just a different plan for your wedding. The one thing that won’t change is the love - you can’t postpone love!
WB: Tell us your favorite part about wedding planning so far?
Emily: My favorite part in planning our wedding is knowing at the end of the day I am marrying the love of my life whether that be May 2nd or August 1st. It has also been a special time having my mom/best friend/wedding planner help me plan our wedding which will be held in my parents backyard in Arkansas. She has been super helpful making phone calls, emails and keeping up with everything we have left to do – she has been such a supporter along the way and we both have enjoyed getting to plan my wedding together!
WB: Are there any positives about your new date vs the original?
Emily: My fiancé and I will be sharing the same wedding anniversary with my parents (August 1st!) They got married on August 1, 1981. Two of our wedding party attendants (a bridesmaid and groomsmen) who we thought couldn’t make it because their babies were due two weeks before May 2nd can now be in our wedding party! Yay! Our wedding would have been held this Saturday, May 2nd in my parents backyard in Arkansas and right now the grass is not green, flowers haven’t fully bloomed and it’s been storming this week so we are thankful the tent isn’t being setup and vendors are not having to load-in with sopping wet grass! We did not print any of our day-of paper products for the wedding so we still have time to change the date and print these which saved us a lot of money! We also now have more time to book our honeymoon since we have more time to plan!
WB: What has helped you the most when dealing with the stresses of having to postpone your wedding!
Emily: Focusing on what I can control and that is planning for a future date and the purpose of getting married. Marriage is a marathon, engagement is a sprint. I would say slowing down and re-focusing on what is happening in our country, investing in more quality time with each other, staying positive and putting our faith, hope and confidence in God. We have both felt less stress and a sense of peace in our relationship – enough to laugh at the craziness of everything we have gone through so far. It will be one heck of a story to tell our children one day!☺
WB: Lastly, when the time comes and we are finally able to get back to some normalcy, what is the first thing you want to do after quarantine?
Emily: Get back to my 2nd dress fitting with Warren Barron, reschedule my bridal portrait session at Arlington Hall with a few amazing Dallas vendors - Carter Rose Photography, Bella Flora and, Mayra and Sonia with My Fabulous Faces. I also hope we can begin rescheduling our wedding festivities with our close friends and family – I have missed them all so much through these trying times!
We want to thank Emily for taking the time to talk to us! Like she said, it is ok to be upset and remember, you are not in this alone!
XO, WB