As vaccination rates continue to increase, the future is looking bright. But we learned a lot of helpful lessons in 2020, and two Infinity brides are sharing their best wedding advice, planning tips, and hard-won wisdom from getting married during the pandemic.
So as we continue into 2021 with some of the same restrictions and safety precautions in place, we've asked Savannah and Courtney a few questions about the planning process.
SAVANNAH
We loved 2020 bride Savannah's colorful summer wedding, so we got in touch to ask her how she planned an intimate event to remember.
For the couples out there who are still struggling with planning decisions, how did you decide to go ahead with a micro wedding?
For us, it came down to the comfort level of our parents. [Our guest list] went from 225 to 13! At the end of the day, we decided that we both weren't going to enjoy the day to the fullest if we were worried about the comfort of our families. In addition, with a long planning process, we came to realize that downsizing had a ton of benefits. We were incredibly present, there was much less stress and anxiety tied to it, and it ended up being such an incredible day. I am a huge advocate of smaller, more personal weddings now.
How did you manage stress and any overwhelming emotions throughout your wedding planning process?
To be honest, Infinity kind of took all that away for me. Not a plug—I truly mean it. The gals we worked with could find the answer to my questions or worries before I had even finished my sentence a lot of the time. I didn't even get a wedding planner because the team at Infinity is your own personal wedding planner. I felt incredibly seen and informed since day one planning, and anytime I got stressed, I just asked for their input immediately and solutions were found. I have and will recommend this group forever, they made a less stressful wedding very possible.
How did your wedding planner/coordinator provide support while navigating this unprecedented experience?
When we told them we were downsizing that much, we didn't know how flexible they would be able to be. We were so surprised at their level of flexibility as we had heard other COVID nightmare scenarios [about] other venues. It actually couldn't have been easier. (Cheesy, but true.)
How did you incorporate your personalities into your special day?
I love wildflowers and a more relaxed vibe. Our bouquets were all wildflowers and nothing too crazy, just simple and colorful. I loved that. I made a 4x6-foot collage (I love to collage) that we were able to put on display at the venue and ordered some pretty fiddle leaf fig trees to round out the area. We got the Tasting Room, which was such a fun treat with such a small group, and we played tunes from all generations. Because it was such a small group, we could make it super personal. Everyone at the wedding made a toast which was so fun and unique—and it would have never happened with the bigger wedding. My nephews got to dance in their bow ties and undies which was hilarious and probably wouldn't have happened at the big wedding either!
When you step back and take a look back at your wedding day, what were the 3 most important things you’d recommend other couples focus on?
Think about who you REALLY want and need to be there. Can you stand to make it even a bit smaller in order to make it a more intimate experience and less stressful for you? I promise you won't regret it. Be mindful in choosing who you allow into your space on your sacred day!
Focus on what you truly love, not what the latest trend is. Find flowers and colors and dresses that make you feel excited and happy. People love to see your personality on your wedding day. And finally, make sure both partners are being heard. My husband never really wanted a big wedding, but he was willing to push along with it because I wanted it so badly. It wasn't until we were forced to make a downsizing decision I actually began to listen to his reasoning as to why it might be really special. You both matter in this process.
"Focus on what you truly love, not what the latest trend is."
Do you have any words of encouragement for brides getting married this year?
I hope you have fun with the process because there is nothing like it. I hope you stay true to what feels best for yourself and your heart, and I hope you can stay mindful and present in the decision-making process in order to get to where you really want to be. You deserve a beautiful day, and you will get that beautiful day through listening to what you really want, and, of course, practicing a lot of gratitude. Practicing gratitude—you get to have a wedding with this awesome group, in these incredible venues—is a really important thing to do. Often we get bogged down by the details, but the fact that we are able to have wedding days this incredible is something we shouldn't lose sight of. Also, there are some cool wedding meditations you can find that help you picture your day in a mindful and new way. Look into it!
Anything we haven’t asked that you think is important to tell people who are getting married this year?
Have fun!! You are so lucky to have found love and to be able to celebrate in whatever capacity that looks like. Enjoy and embrace!
Want to even more micro wedding tips? Head over to our Currently Crushing blog.
COURTNEY
For those that can't imagine tying the knot without all of their family and friends, a minimony is a better route. A minimony is a smaller ceremony, usually an elopement, with a larger celebration to follow in the future.
Our past bride, Courtney, chose to elope on the rooftop of The Bridge Building and host a small brunch reception. She and her new hubby will celebrate with all the people from their original guest list in the summer of 2021!
Some couples may be worried about separating the dates of their ceremony and reception. How did you decide to go with a minimony?
Separating the ceremony and reception was not ideal, but our original date was back in April 2020, before we had any context for what this pandemic would turn into, and we had to make a quick decision. We decided to postpone out of an abundance of caution, and although we immediately felt a sense of relief, the uncertainty of when we would be able to get married was disheartening.
My husband and I are both educators, and as the summer approached, we decided to take advantage of a more flexible work schedule and seize the moment, unsure of when the opportunity would present itself again. We knew this meant it would look different, but it was important to us to move forward and create our own joy in the uncertainty.
"It was important to move forward and create our own joy."
How did you manage stress and any overwhelming emotions throughout your wedding planning process?
We leaned on our families a lot. It was important to us to have their support in moving forward with a wedding, especially knowing that some of our closest family members would not be able to travel to Nashville. We certainly had moments of being overwhelmed with planning [what was] essentially a whole new weekend, but my husband is the king of spreadsheets, and staying organized keeps me grounded, so we made a great team.
Also, as soon as we started thinking of it as a fun summer weekend with a wedding thrown in, so much of the planning was fun! I did seek out spaces on social media where other brides were in the same situation, and those were a great resource both for planning ideas and as a reminder that I wasn’t alone in how I was feeling.
When you step back and take a look back at your wedding day, what were the 3 most important things you’d recommend other couples focus on?
My husband’s desire to think about the purpose of our wedding celebration really drove the way we approached planning it, and, in hindsight, this is what made it so meaningful and personal. Talk about why you are having a wedding, and find ways to make it align to that purpose—even if it looks different than what you’ve always imagined. Whatever comes out of that conversation will help you decide what other two important things to focus on. For us, it was making our people feel loved and sharing a bit of our Nashville life with them.
Photos by Heck Design and Photography and Sarah Kriner.
