Best Creative Wedding Ideas from Real COVID-19 Weddings in 2020

Your Bridal Party:

Wedding parties are a big consideration for our brides at the moment. Some originally had planned for their absolute nearest and dearest to stand with them during their ceremony, and now their nearest and dearest will make up a good portion of their wedding. Instead of having 5 of your best friends be beside you, find other ways to incorporate the beauty of being in wedding parties without that part. After all, it’s really the getting ready together that’s the most fun part anyway. You can still have your girls get their hair and makeup done alongside you, and do special photos for just those who were going to be in your wedding party. Some of our brides are even doing a special night for their girls right before their wedding at an Airbnb to make sure you all get in that beautiful bonding time together before the big day. If they’ve already bought their dresses, even better, they’ll look coordinated in photos and it will be a nod to your original plans. If they haven’t, we love the idea of having your bride-tribe coordinate but still have their own unique looks whether through colour or gown style; sort of like a best-kept-secret among you and your girls.

Write Unique Vows:

If your guest list has suddenly been cut down from 250 to 25, you might feel more comfortable with certain things, one being personalised vows. While many couples do this regardless of their wedding size, some find it difficult to express such deep (and amazingly mushy) things in front of a large crowd. If you’re planning an elopement or just cutting down in size in general due to COVID, don’t miss the opportunity to tell your SO how you feel. Especially after such a crazy few months, telling your partner how much they mean to you and what your marriage means to you is a beautifully significant addition to your changed wedding. It helps to ground you both as well, bringing you back to what your wedding really means and its importance, after a potentially stressful decision of having to change your original plans.

Switch Up How You Host:

With a tight-knit group at your intimate wedding and your potentially outdoor ceremony, you can also give a new spin on a classic big day by doing something alternative and incorporate some unique wedding ideas for your wedding format. Plenty of our brides are having a sequel wedding: keeping their original date for an intimate wedding ceremony now, and then having their originally planned big day (or just their reception) at a later date. (How many people get to wear their gown twice?) Some brides are also taking advantage of all the tech at our fingertips and live streaming their ceremony for all their family and friends to see.

Alana & Josh (Photographed by Isaac de Bruyn) had an incredible wedding that they hosted on Zoom for anyone who could not be there.

Alana and Josh made some big changes to their initially planned day as well. After feeling lots of decision fatigue during lockdown with whether to postpone and rearrange their whole day, this couple decided to go ahead with their wedding too. With a bit of luck (as Josh’s brother is a photographer and his mum is a pastor) Alana was able to have a memorable, unique and beautiful wedding day during the time of COVID. With their guest count considerably lowered, the couple had the rest of their planned guests join by Zoom. Alana acknowledged how hard it is to have people close to you not be there in person, but one of the ways she circumvented that and was able to enjoy her day was by making the decision to celebrate all over again at a later date. We love this idea for celebrating later! Make the decision to do it, but don’t bog yourself down with all the little details, 2020 has been tricky enough without having to plan all over again. It’s a fabulous idea to have a small version of your wedding when you can, make the decision to have your originally planned day later on and save the details for when you have a clearer head space. It’s a beautiful thing that Alana and Josh were able to weather the COVID storm by having a day of happiness and celebrating, even though it was different than what they’d initially planned.

Create Welcome Packages:

One fun (and totally doable now with a smaller guest list) option is to create welcome packages for your guests, these can be your favours or be in addition to something separate. Welcome packages can include anything from comfy slippers to a personal bottle of champagne or a small gift specific to that person. This kicks off your big day making people feel at ease and comfortable right from the start and helps to set the tone of your wedding. In the time of COVID you can also include things like sanitiser or a mask if needed!

Hailey & Evan (Photographed by Tanya Salazar Photography) are a great example of a couple who had masks at their ceremony to help their guests feel more at ease.

Hailey had a breathtaking wedding in October in New York. Hosted at the Westchester Country Club, this wedding was stunning and intimate, and the bride and groom made sure to make their guests feel safe and at ease the whole time. Hailey knew she wanted to marry Evan on their original wedding date. Come what may, nothing was stopping these two lovebirds. With some slight alterations, such as their guests wearing masks during the ceremony, Hailey and Evan were able to gracefully and lightheartedly face the challenges of having a wedding in 2020. They even shared their first kiss with masks on for some levity! We love that nothing could stop this gorgeous couple from celebrating, and Hailey was one of our NYC brides that had a custom-made mask out of her wedding gown fabric. (Might we add she looked incredible in her BESPOKE, custom Demi bodice and Karly skirt with custom straps and 2 toppers she could remove throughout her night.) With her small adjustments, she was able to still have her day go off as planned and her guests felt comfortable which was so important to her.

Hannah & Rich (Photography by Luminosity Film Studios) had a COVIDSafe reception of dreams, despite things changing from their original plans.

Hannah & Rich had already postponed their wedding 6 months out from their original date due to COVID when the rules changed yet again and interstate travel became limited in Australia. After having already rearranged their entire wedding once before, this stunning couple decided to forge ahead and stick to their new date, despite how heartbroken they were that so many of their guests could no longer attend. Their day-of coordinator (who was an amazing person to have on their day to help alleviate stress) took care of ensuring their wedding would run smooth, keep all of their party safe, and allow the couple to still have an incredible day even given the times they were in. By including their guests who could no longer attend through Zoom, and having their celebrant address them directly during their ceremony, everyone managed to feel included on such a joyous day. Hannah also incorporated some fun DIY’s into her day with her bridesmaids and family helping to make all the floral arrangements!

Hannah & Rich had an outdoor reception with tons of space for guest to feel comfortable and be as distanced as they pleased, and by a stroke of pure luck the morning of their wedding was the first date that dancing restrictions were eased in their area and their guests were able to dance the night away while still following guidelines and feeling safe. A highlight to make their unexpected dancing even more perfect? Hannah’s father and brother arranged a firework display during the reception for the most incredibly special moment. We can’t get over how this couple’s day turned out, everything was picture-perfect down to the last detail and they found ways to navigate to make their day turn out better than they’d ever anticipated. We can’t recommend enough that you do something extra special (like Hannah & Rich’s firework surprise) to take the attention off of the things you can’t do and put focus on making the absolute most out fo your big day, we surely know our COVID brides deserve just that little hint of something extra special!

After having such a fabulous day, the lovely couple decided they were content and so happy with their turn out that their original plan of having a second wedding at a later date was no longer needed; their wedding was beautiful just as it was.

Consider Your Seating Arrangements:

Seating is something else to consider when looking for small wedding ideas during your wedding planning, both for your potentially outdoor ceremony and your reception. Distanced seating for a small crowd can look airy and beautiful and, in your photos, will allow you to see all of your guests when you look back on your wedding. This will also visually fill up the space and help your ceremony appear open. At your reception, a long family style table with gorgeous florals is a beautiful option in lieu of your standard few-person-to-a-round-table traditional seating. A U-shape table is also fabulous if you’re looking to space out a bit more and want guests to be able to interact with each other.

Maria & Andrew (Photographed by Hartman Outdoor Photography & Michelle Elyse Photography) perfectly implemented so many of these great COVID reception recommendations, giving careful though to their dinner seating.

Maria’s jaw-droppingly gorgeous small wedding of 50 was held outdoors at the Biltmore Estate with parts of her wedding held under a tented area. This left lots of openness for social distancing and ventilation. Masks were worn by guests and vendors, seats were distanced and tables that would typically seat 10 sat 7 people to make sure everyone was kept safely away from one another without feeling completely separated. Precautions were also taken to make sure this couple’s guests did not have to get up and move around during the dinner courses, so that once their masks were off they could remain distanced and seated. We can’t get enough of Maria’s stunning wedding; it just serves to prove that you can still capture that bridal magic even with COVID precautions in place. One of our favorite things was that Andrew (being oh-so tech-savvy) created a software to text guests their table numbers on the morning of their big day in lieu of seating cards to avoid guests and staff having to touch their card. We of course love that Maria’s beautiful Taryn Camille gown had pockets for all those lipstick touch-ups from wearing her mask.

Now that you’ve got all the wedding inspo and ideas, you’re ready to start the fun bit – the dress hunt! Book an appointment with us today to see your favourite KWH styles in person.

If you’re in the midst of wedding planning during this time and are opting for a smaller, more intimate option, check out our recent blogs here and here to help you through the process and give you some great tips!