Blyssful Wedding Details – 8.7.21
It’s officially been 6 months since I said “I Do” to my high school sweetheart. For those who don’t know the story, Matt and I got engaged 3/7/21 a week before the world shut down. We moved in with my parents for 8 months while planning a Covid wedding on 8/7/21. We went on virtual tours to see venues as in-person was not allowed. We finally were able to see a few outdoor spaces with just us and one tour guide. We ultimately decided on our venue and from there began the planning. I always knew I wanted a summer tent wedding, which ended up being a blessing because of the mandates. We were set to get married in Philly, which had very strict protocols. At the time, we couldn’t have more than 100 people indoors without masks (pre-vaccine days).
Planning a wedding was the least glamorous process and if I were to do it over again I would have 100% hired a planner. It was so stressful without all of the unknowns but then throw in this new pandemic and it was too much to handle. Thank god I worked with a therapist during the planning process to help me work through the emotions and stress of it all. Fast forward to two months before, we had to change venues due to Covid. We were informed that our other venue would need to keep the tent open, which would mean no AC. The main reason we booked this venue was the AC was included and it was August. We scrambled to come up with a new plan. We had a few options and only a few days to decide. 1. Postpone to MDW 2022 so it would be cooler and wouldn’t have to worry about the AC, but we would lose all of our vendors. 2. Find a new date in 2022 when all my vendors were available but have to wait another year. 3. Find a new venue, which I was not willing to do. Until my Mom magically found a new venue that was just built by the same caterer as we were using and on the same date. Everything about it was a miracle. The tent was the same but twice the size, they were allowed to use AC even if the tent was open, the house that we would get ready in was much larger in case it rained. It had a Bridal Suite, which my other venue did not. It was in Delaware so their rules were a little bit more lenient with Covid. So we changed venues and it was the best decision for us.
Here are some of the most common questions I received:
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART?
I loved how everything went and how even though the day flew by, it felt long and I was present the whole time. That was my intention was to not allow anything to stop me from having the best day ever. After the year of stress, I think Matt and I both were just so happy it was finally here. I loved our vows, which I was very nervous about. I have a huge fear of public speaking so I worked with a vow coach, The Vow Whisperer. She provided us with in-depth questions that we answered on our own and did not share the results with one another. From there, we turned those answers into a storyline that was broken into sections. It’s hard to be 12 years into 600 words, but she was able to help me bring the story to life. She coached me for two weeks on how to properly speak and express my words. We spoke a few times a week on Facetime and I don’t think they would have been as impactful if it wasn’t for Tanya’s help.
My other favorite part was our first dance. We took lessons weekly for about 8 weeks and it was such a special moment. I was also extremely nervous about if we could do the moves we learned, if I would fall, etc. But it came out so beautifully and started the night on such a high note.
WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR REGRETS?
One would be not having a planner. Although my Mom and MIL were so hands on and did everything, I think it would have taken so much stress off our plates and allowed us to focus our energy elsewhere.
I also regret not having our photographer shoot our rehearsal dinner on Friday. Because we changed venues, the only option for dinner we could find was at the hotel we stayed at. It was nothing fancy, but I would have loved to have taken professional photos that night. In the long run, it was not a big deal at all. I would have also loved to have a photographer be at my bridal shower because it was hard to get photos as everyone was busy and running around.
Not having an after party – again we chose to do this at our hotel. It was nothing crazy, we did not rent out a space. A few friends/family did come back and we ate/drank more at their bar. It was still fun but would have loved to continue the party for a little bit longer.
Not giving out a goodbye gift. At the end, it just became too much to figure out what to do and if I could go back I would have loved to give candy or something sentimental.
WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR MUST-HAVES?
Seeing our reception before our guests did was such a beautiful moment that I won’t forget. It was just Matt and I and we went in to practice our first dance alone. It literally took my breath away to see how every detail came out perfectly. Months of planning, back and forth changes, etc. and it blew my expectations away.
Having a photo booth of some sort. I know not everyone does this, and it can be expensive. Ours was a large part of the budget, but it was important to me. We ended up using Mirmir and I am so glad we did. All of the guests loved it and they were taking photos all night long. We have so many amazing photos as memories for us and our guests.
Buy clear umbrellas just in case. Our wedding date called for rain, which was my biggest fear (aside from a heatwave), thank god it held out. But I am so glad we had umbrellas for myself and the wedding party prepared just in case.
Have your hairdresser come back after the ceremony. This was huge for me and worth the extra money. I only did this for hair not makeup but it was needed. I have very thin, fine hair and it falls quickly. After the ceremony, the curls fell out so she quickly came back to touch it up before the party and it looked great for almost the rest of the evening.
Repurpose your flowers. This was one of my favorite things that we did. We worked with Forget Me Knot, which goes to various locations in the northeast. Her team came to collect the flowers at the end of the evening so they would not get tossed. They have a team of volunteers that help to give the flowers a second life by creating arrangements for nursing homes, hospitals, and elderly communities. You also get an intention card to show your guests that they are being reused.
WHAT DID YOU PUT IN THE WEDDING WELCOME BAG?
I would have loved to do burlap bags but everything was adding up quickly and we had to save money where we could. We did white paper bags with stickers on the outside with our name and date. Inside we put together healthy snacks like mini GoMacro bars, SkinnyPop popcorn, water bottles, mini bags of trail mix, mini Tylenol packs, mini tic tac packs, mini That’s It bars, and an itinerary, which I created on Canva.
For my bridesmaids, I gifted them custom slippers from The Knot with their initials and organic cotton robes from a small-owned UK brand, Meeka.
Random things we had the day of:
Gift box – make sure to put this somewhere visible. A few guests did not see this.
Gift for Mom + MIL – I ordered the digital copy a few weeks before and printed/framed myself
Celestial cake topper with our names – order at least a month in advanced
Custom ring box with initials for our photographer to shoot – Etsy
Custom initial sneakers – not the most comfortable but they were so cute
Fact napkins for our cocktail hour – there was a supply issue with white napkins and we had to order ivory so they would get there on time. Order ahead of time!
Wedding Sparklers – Make Your Wedding Sparkle
Backdrop sign – Echo Neon Studio – takes about a month
Rattan Chairs – Maple Street Modern Design
How to be intentional:
In the morning, I took about 10 minutes alone to meditate and just set my intention for the day. It instantly calmed my nerves down. I decided to stay off my phone the whole day and I am so happy I did. There was some time while my bridesmaids were getting ready that I shot some video and photo content but other than that I wanted to just disconnect. My dress had pockets so I carried with me something blue from my MOH. She gave me a Lapis Lazuli heart shaped crystal, which helped me speak with love and confidence during my vows. I decided that even if it rained, it was meant to be and that everything would work out the way it should.
Outfit details:
Robe: Le Rose Robe + Slip
Dress / Veil – custom made from Loulette Bridal
Shoes – Loeffler Randall – comfiest shoes ever
Earrings / headpiece – Emma Katza
Bridesmaid dresses – Two Birds NYC in Putty
Vendors:
Invitations/welcome sign/ketubah – Vidhi Dattani Designs
Photographer – Hayley Richter Photo
Venue / Caterer – Bellevue Hall Delaware – Jeffrey Miller Catering
Videographer – Beautiful Love Production
Florist – Be Lovely
Band – Eddie Bruce BVT Live – we planned the date around this band. They have done every family affair of ours and several guests booked the night of our wedding.
Photo booth – Mirmir
Remember at the end of the day to be present and enjoy it! You can only control so much and as a Virgo, Type A planner, this was hard for me to surrender to the unknown. I decided no matter what happened I would not let it affect my day. The whole week I enjoyed every moment, I stopped working starting Wednesday and did last-minute things to get myself in the right mindset. I do believe my mindful practice and mindset helped tremendously. It allowed me to come back to my breath and my intention for the day.
