10 Steps to Prepare for your Wedding during the Pandemic

As excitement grows with your wedding date set it’s time to start planning for the big day. However, in this time of uncertainty it may be hard to know exactly where to start. While it may feel like so much is up in the air there are still so many important things you can do to continue your preparations.

1. Find your team

This of course includes all the wedding professionals you will want to enlist to help see your vision through. Reach out to trusted friends, family or co-workers for their recommendations. We also suggest you prepare a list of those friends and family members who will be your right-hand support along the way - a parent, or maid of honor, a sibling, etc.

2. Wedding Theme

Some couples will head into their engagement knowing exactly what their wedding style or brand looks like while others are developing their vision as they go. Regardless, it’s best to be prepare by creating Pinterest boards or by gathering a set of items or samples from weddings you may have received in the past. This will help your team of vendors by providing them with some visuals to build from.

3. Guest Addresses

Wait no longer as now is the time to contact friends and family to update your list of addresses. To avoid the stress of incompletion when it is time to send out the Save the Dates or Invitations it’s best to start early.

4. Website

Especially in this time of rapidly changing info it is ideal to have a place where you can update information on the fly. A wedding website is the best place to do so. Let your guests know on your Save the Date and Invitation Details cards that you will be placing updated information on your website as it relates to the ever-changing pandemic situation.

5. Registry

Your registry is such a helpful tool for your guests and will in the end provide you with the items you want and need. Take this time to the choose the items you important to you and include them on the wedding website for guests to easily access.

6. Save the Dates

Once the date is set you can start working on the Save the Dates. Save the Dates are typically sent 6-12 months prior to the wedding date. Many stationers will help to create that branded style early on that can be carried from the Save the Dates on into the Invitations.

7. Invitation Suite

If you’ve chosen a stationer early on for your Save the Dates then you might already have a vision laid out for your Invitations. But if not, you’ll want to start looking at Invitations online or identifying a stationer you’d like to meet with. You can also use this time to start thinking about what else you’ll need to include in your stationery suite (Details cards, Rehearsal Dinner invites, etc).

Modern Invitation with Poppy Flower

Custom Watercolor Crest Invitations

Modern Black and Gold Square Invitation

8. Wedding Day of Stationery

While this may be one of the last things you tackle having an idea of what you’ll want and need on the day of the wedding will help keep you organized. This might include signage, programs, menus, thank you cards and more. You can find options online that will provide samples and include pricing which will be important to help you stay on budget.

9. Welcome box

If you plan to prepare a welcome box for your guests coming in from out of town you can start searching for the goods you plan to pack in it. Many couples choose to curate a box with special meaning to them. This could be a beverage made in their hometown or cookies that are decorated to complement the wedding theme.

10. Parting gifts

Though not a necessity this can be a unique way to end the celebration with a special thanks from the couple. This can range from something sweet and sentimental to an item that is kitschy and fun. Regardless, it can be a fun way for the couple to make it their own.

While some decisions may be on hold due to the pandemic there are still plenty of tasks to check off the list. Start planning and check out our timelines for important dates. Or, to get started on your budget planning view our Online Shop where prices are listed for all your wedding stationery needs.

A Distant Toast | Celebrate from Afar

While the current pandemic has forced couples to make many difficult decisions, trimming down the guest list may be one of the hardest. There are a plethora of reasons a couple might choose to cut back on their headcount or find the need to eliminate guests altogether. The causes could range from state restrictions and new venue policies to unforeseen financial circumstances. Regardless of the situation, couples can still involve their favorite people in a special way.

We like to call it a Distant Toast! While large weddings with everyone gathered in one spot may be on hold right now you can still invite your guests to celebrate from afar. This might be an actual group toast on a zoom call or it could be a small gift to show your appreciation for the love and support from your family and friends. We have pulled together a handful of Distant Toast ideas for you to consider below.

Monogramed bubbly

Sending a bottle of bubbly is the perfect pairing for a scheduled zoom toast with those who couldn’t be with you on your wedding day. You can customize the bubbly with a cocktail stirrer, a tag or a sticker that showcases your wedding brand for an added level of detail. Include a personalized note of celebration along with it:

We are so grateful to have such supportive family and friends. We wish you could be here to celebrate with us, but know you will be toasting from afar!

Monogramed Can Coolers

Paired with the couple’s favorite carbonated beverage, a can cooler is certainly a light-hearted approach to a distant toast. As a long-term keepsake can coolers also offer a distinctive area to get creative and have fun with wording:

Sip, sip hooray! We’re getting married anyway!

Sip, Sip, Hooray!

Monogramed Matches and a Candle

If you have scaled back on your wedding guest count, and in turn your overall spend, then sending a gift of gratitude may be the ideal way to connect with your family and friends. Include a candle with a custom printed tag and custom designed set of matches. Add a note of thanks that might read:

For the safety of our guests, we have decided to marry in an intimate ceremony on July 18th. This gift is a token of our appreciation for years of your support and guidance. We are so excited to begin our lives as husband and wife.

Light a Candle for a Distant Toast

Confetti Poppers

Celebrate with a bang by sending confetti poppers! These can be customized with stickers and tags to match your wedding colors or design theme and carry with it a fun way to celebrate for all ages! Don't forget to include an invitation to celebrate:

Since we can no longer celebrate in person, we ask that you join us on January 2nd, 2021 at 6pm for a Distant Toast!

In light of the current situation, making the best of it is the name of the game. A Distant Toast can add an extra special touch when celebrating from afar or a great way to let your friends and family know that you are thinking of them just as they are thinking of you.

Check out our online shop to find boxes, tags, and stickers for personalizing your Distant Toast. Or visit us at paper-daisies.com to find additional personalized gift ideas. And if you are looking to curate a more custom line of goods for your Distant Toast just drop us a note!

Downsizing Your Wedding | COVID19 Pandemic

You found the perfect dress. Your Save the Dates have been sent. The Invitations have gone into production. But then, a pandemic arrives during the months leading up to your wedding day. It was never supposed to look like this but circumstances have forced you to rethink the size of your wedding. And more specifically, your wedding guest count.

Guest lists can change for many reasons but rarely is it ever due to global crisis. Today, couples who have been directly impacted by the pandemic have had to rethink what their big day will now look like. For some, it has required them to reduce the number of guests invited to the wedding.

Reducing the guest list could be necessary for a variety of reasons. Each state currently has different restrictions and what is happening in your state now could be very different in another. As a result, venues may have certain conditions they need to follow. Other venues are building upon state guidelines to create their own set of rules to keep themselves and their guests as safe as possible. In addition, with the change in the economy, unforeseen financial pressures may require a couple to rethink the size of their wedding.

Lisa Hladish, Owner of Paper Daisies Stationery, recommends that if you do need to alter your guest list, particularly after guests have received a Save the Date and/or an Invitation, that you follow these 3 steps in moving forward:

Lisa Hladish | Owner of Paper Daisies Stationery

Best to be honest and genuine

These are unprecedented times with no real playbook for how or what to do. With the restrictions on gathering size it should not come as a big surprise for most guests. Your sincere message will go a long way.

No need to over explain

There is certainly no need to share with your guests exactly why this is happening. As noted above, a sincere and honest message is key. The language below is just one way to share the news.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances and after much consideration we have made the difficult decision to pare down our wedding ceremony. As a result we cannot accommodate as many of our friends and family as we had hoped. We wish you could be but we know you’ll celebrate with us from afar.”

Downsizing wedding guest card

Get the word out ASAP

It is important to share with guests as soon as you have made your decision. While so much of life has been on hold for every one they will surely appreciate the notice sooner than later. Especially for those folks who have to book anything where deposits can’t be returned.

Downsizing the guest count is no easy decision. But if necessary, we suggest you consider the previous steps above. And if you need assistance in designing postponement cards, elopement announcements or cards that will thoughtfully describe the newly downsized event we invite you to chat with us online or email us.

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