Planning a Wedding in Uncertain Times

The wedding industry is constantly evolving with new trends and innovation every year. Most vendors, bridal fairs and wedding magazines highlight the upcoming years trends, colours, innovations and ideas so that couples can include them in their planning. As with everything else in 2020, weddings had to quickly adjust and change to meet the new requirements and restrictions brought on by the pandemic.

Many couples chose to postpone to 2021 in the hopes that they would be able to host their wedding as originally planned, with lots of guests and socializing. Although there is hope of a more social year, the events industry expectations are that the year will continue to require limitations of attendees and physical distancing. As uncertainty continues with what orders will be in place, what is the best way to plan for your 2021 wedding?

During our live event, all of our wedding experts indicated that 2021 will continue to provide uncertainty in planning, so moving forward with a wedding in 2021, it is best to plan for an intimate wedding, communicate often with your vendors and attendees, and anticipate having to make changes. Many vendors are eager to assist you with your planning, having come up with wonderful new ideas, innovations and plans throughout 2020 that can make your 2021 wedding perfect.

We reached out to all our Bridal Fair vendors for their thoughts on ideas, innovations and offerings that they think will help make 2021 a successful wedding year. Here is what they have said.

The biggest trend right now is intimate weddings, for the obvious reasons of the restrictions in place to limit gathering sizes. Vendors are coming up with fantastic ways to make small weddings feel like it was the plan all along.

We now offer live streaming as an add on for currently booked couples, and a completely separate service to couples out there who have a DJ already, or are just looking for the live streaming service itself. This has been a huge hit - not only because it gives comfort to couples who are unsure of their possible guest list due to Covid but also because it gives couples the chance to include more friends and family in their ceremony/reception. We think it has also been well received due to the fact that we have multi camera setups which act more like videography productions rather than your typical live stream. The viewers really feel like they're there with you, rather than in a meeting. Which is something we're able to provide as one of our other companies is a production house with years of live streaming experience. Also since we're able to run completely wirelessly, we're also able to go to some very unique settings which have been really amazing for elopements! Live streaming weddings will definitely be something that grows in the industry, and we're happy to be able to provide such a forward thinking service to those having weddings in Kamloops and the interior of BC! – JESSE, COMMON SOUND

Summer 2020 has shown us that small weddings can be just as beautiful and full of love as large weddings. We truly loved getting to decorate mini weddings that had tons of style. Elopement style weddings are the new thing and we are loving it as event decorators. 150+ person weddings were once the norm and now 50 person weddings are. Aglow has pivoted to offer smaller packages that don't skimp on decor and leave a beautiful lasting impression on intimate weddings. – BRITTANY, AGLOW WEDDINGS & EVENTS

For us, the key to continued success was being adaptable! Although it's not always easy to compromise on your dream vision, we were there to help each and every bride and groom have the safest, most beautiful wedding despite the implemented changes. For some, adapting meant venue changes or cutting their guest lists down, some turned their ceremonies into beautiful elopements. For others, who decided to stay true to their original visions, we worked hard to secure them new dates, venues and vendors. With 2020 behind us, we are highly optimistic and we can't wait to see what 2021 has in store! – BRITTANY, BELLS & BOWES

Brides had to downsize their numbers, but this made for a more intimate experience.  – CHARLENE, LAC LE JEUNE WILDERNESS RESORT

One particularly memorable wedding was a couple who have been in our Wine Club for some time and are familiar faces around Privato. During the height of the pandemic with travel bans eliminating the option to follow through with their planned destination wedding, they opted to elope in our Tasting Room, just the two of them with myself the tasting room manager as the witness and the wedding officiant. It was such a beautiful and intimate moment to be a part of and really displayed the epitome of why we wanted to host weddings and be a part of this industry. – KRISTIN, PRIVATO

Definitely Covid 19 was an experience in itself. I really had to focus on smaller, more intimate weddings. Of course everyone wants all of their family and friends to be a part of their special day but now with technology they can be, even if its not in person. Smaller and more intimate weddings can be just as beautiful and special. – AMBER, SHEER FLORALS

We’re offering an Elopement package (up to 10 people) in partnership with Common Sound for their live streaming services. This allows family members who cannot attend in person to stream the wedding live. – SARAH, DELTA HOTELS BY MARRIOTT

Many of our vendors have adjusted how they do business so that they are able to still assist you and offer services that will help with all of your wedding planning.

We provided great experiences during Covid and were able to offer Bring Your Own Bubble Tours ( BYOB). – TERRI, DIVINE TOURS

Our team here in Kamloops is also very excited to announce the upcoming launch of a live web-store – that will safely and securely meet everyone’s needs. With options for curb-side pickup or shipping to residence. To stay connected with our loyal regulars, we also launched Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat accounts – to match up with our location-specific Facebook pages that were already in use. We always welcome those intrigued by our shops to reach out and contact us through the media platform of their choice! – JAMIE, DR.LOVE & HEMP CITY

Learning to be flexible and accommodating in re-booking wedding last minute and juggling my schedule for next year to fit in my 2020 couples. – MELODY, MELODY DEVITT PHOTOGRAPHY

I usually arrange in-person viewing of photos after a session, whether that is for portraits or weddings. During the pandemic, I have moved most of these viewings online to Zoom, or online galleries. I really enjoy reviewing the images with my clients and making a plan to print their favourites. Although it's not as personal of an experience online, I have had some good laughs shared via webcam, and my dog has made some cameo appearances! – SARAH, PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARAH UNDERWOOD

For many vendors, the constant changing to restrictions limited the ability to plan or even participate in 2020 weddings and may limit what they can accomplish in 2021. They are however, just as driven to help their wedding couples successfully plan by providing guidance and advice to navigate the planning process.

Unfortunately, at the start of the pandemic, TRU Conference Centre, like so many other event venues across the province was closed and we have yet to reopen for business. Being part of the overall TRU community, TRU Conference Centre has been in a unique situation where the whole University decided to close its doors to on-campus classes and events back in March for the safety of our students, staff and guests. Over the last nine months TRU Conference Centre has been working to provide ongoing support and guidance to all of our valued couples who have either had to cancel or postpone their wedding with us or who are looking for guidance with future wedding planning. Although we do not know yet what our 2021 wedding season will bring, we are hopeful that we will be able to hold weddings in some sort of capacity this summer. Our on-going goal is to provide couples with consistent communication and ongoing support through this difficult and unpredictable time while they’re trying to plan their weddings. We look forward to reopening and hosting their special day again soon. – CARRIE, TRU CONFERENCE CENTRE

Over the past summer, one of the challenges that we faced was navigating through the ever- changing provincial regulations surrounding events/gatherings. This provided us with the opportunity to create new and creative initiatives that worked with both our clients needs and regulations. – MARCIE, QUAAOUT LODGE

This entire past year was a whole new experience and it presented some very unique and interesting challenges. The truth is that I am still learning a lot through all that has and hasn't happened in the past year but if there is one thing that I have learnt, it is that being flexible and adaptable is key. If you aren't willing to bend, you will break so exploring all the different ways I can bend my business into has been a little scary at times but it has also been exciting as I rethink and re-envision things. 2020 has given me a lot of time to plan things and make key changes to how I do things so, as we go into this new year, I am actually quite excited to see how things will work out. – RACHEL, BASKIN CREATIVE STUDIOS

We were on top of the new demands for the safety protocols and had them in place as soon as possible. We keep up to date to ensure the safety of our guests and staff.  – KATHY, WINGATE BY WYNDHAM

 The trend of smaller, intimate weddings is likely to continue, so planning your wedding with those restrictions in mind will help avoid having to make drastic adjustments in the future. This doesn’t mean that you can’t share your special moments with a greater audience. Through technology and live-streaming it is possible to still involve a larger group in a few key moments of your wedding, and allowing those who are unable or uncomfortable with travel to enjoy celebrating with you.

Communication will be key to keeping on top of all of the changing restrictions that we are likely to see throughout the year. Your vendors will be knowledgeable of the restrictions that apply to them, so reach out to them to discuss how it may affect your wedding day and any changes or decisions that may need to be made. It is equally important to communicate with your attendees any changes that may affect them. The more time they have to consider options, the easier it will be to make decisions.

Through it all, regardless of what takes place this summer, remember that your vendors are here to help you and want to provide you the best services and products they can under the circumstances. Companies are continuing to innovate and create new services to best suit the needs of their clients throughout the year. Don’t be afraid to work with your vendors to come up with new ideas that will help achieve some of your plans, we are all open to how we can make 2021 weddings special.