In this time of unprecedented uncertainty, at least one thing’s for sure: it’s not an easy time to be planning a wedding right now. Spring and summer brides are canceling or postponing their nuptials, but for brides with wedding dates further out into the future, wedding planning presents a different kind of challenge. Venues aren’t open, brick-and-mortar bridal stores are shuttered—but for those of you who cannot sit still and need to be doing something productive, never fear. In light of shelter in place orders, many bridal companies are offering ways to continue supporting their clients and help them plan for their special day, just virtually. From seeing full venues on your computer, getting free swatches, and even having a tux or gown delivered right to your front door, there are a number of ways that wedding vendors are adapting to these crazy times. Since there’s nowhere to go besides the couch, what better way to take advantage of your extra time than to plan your dream wedding? Whether you had to postpone your event, or your special day is in the near future, here are some virtual wedding planning tasks you can cross off your list without leaving the house.
The Venue
Virtual tours provide the opportunity to tour venues when you’re unable to view them in person, like for instance, right now. Jenna Miller, Creative Director at Here Comes The Guide, says that during the COVID-19 quarantine, many wedding venues are offering personal site tours via FaceTime and Skype. She explains, “You can virtually ‘walk’ through the event spaces with the venue’s on-site coordinator, talk through what your wedding could look like at their location, and ask questions as they come up in real time.” If you don’t feel like talking to anyone or dealing with yet another Zoom call, Here Comes The Guide offers many virtual venue tours on their site with 360-degree videos that allow you to get a virtual feel of the space. I don’t know about you, but seeing venues from my couch with a glass of red seems pretty nice to me.
The Dress
According to Kristen Maxwell Cooper, Editor-in-Chief of The Knot, bridal salon owners and designers are continuing to go the extra mile for their clients: “they know that shopping for ‘the dress’ is a special experience, and one of the most anticipated and exciting moments of wedding planning.” That’s why thousands of local bridal shops around the country are holding client meetings through FaceTime, Zoom, and Google Hangouts where they discuss the bride’s vision and virtually take her through the store. If you do have that “say yes to the dress” moment, many stores are offering to ship gowns directly to your home, if your wedding is taking place within the year.
Bridal retailer Brideside is taking the virtual shopping experience one step further with virtual styling appointments over Google Hangouts, where stylists will pull mood boards and can show swatches, screen share, and even try on gowns for brides to give them an idea of fit. Clients who book a virtual appointment at least five days in advance will get mailed complimentary color swatches to have on hand. And if you’re freaking out about your wedding budget getting totally nuked by the pandemic, don’t worry—Brideside’s virtual services are free (you just have to pay for shipping if you’re getting a try-at-home box delivered).
The Tux
When it comes to fitting for a suit or tuxedo, Generation Tux offers a virtual fitting process that creates your fit using your specific height, age and weight, traditional pants size, age, and body type. These new virtual tools make getting your suit or tuxedo easier, and faster, than a traditional fitting. It’s already hard enough to get your fiancé out the door to try on suits, this way he doesn’t have to worry about doing anything other than picking out something you like he likes.
I know this may not be the way you expected to plan your special day, but thanks to these amazing new technologies and companies, you can still plan your dream wedding while quarantined and potentially spending way too much time with your soon-to-be husband. Hang in there. You’ll wear that gorgeous gown for real soon enough.
Images: Louis Paulin, Shardayyy Photography, Charisse Kenion, Jason Briscoe / Unsplash; betchesbrides / Instagram
