Hi beautiful brides!
I want to start off this post by saying I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that you are experiencing a pandemic during one of the most important and exciting times of your life. We've all heard it - We've all heard that wedding planning is stressful. We've all heard that something is bound to go wrong on your wedding day. Someone forgets the rings, the flowers weren't the right color, a bridesmaid forgot to get her dress altered - but no one could have EVER expected a virus to completely ruin/cancel your wedding day.
I know for some couples the wedding isn't as important; it's the marriage. But for those brides who are like me, the wedding is just as important as the marriage. I've dreamed about my wedding day since I was a little girl. I always prayed for the perfect man and once I found him I was even more excited for the wedding. All of my dreams were finally coming true.
We have been engaged for a year which is VERY uncommon in my culture. Typically you are supposed to get married within 3-6 months of getting engaged and that is something we did not do. We decided to plan our wedding in August so we can celebrate our honeymoon in September, during our 3 year dating anniversary. We had it all planned out. When the coronavirus first started, I kept kicking myself that we planned the wedding a year out. Like most brides, I went through the 5 stages of grief. Every. Single. Day. At first I brushed it off, then I became sad, then angry, then cried, then felt depressed. I was SO upset that this just HAD to happen during our wedding year. "Why me??" Why couldn't this happen in 2019 or 2021???
I tried to google ways to make myself feel better. I vented to my best friend and my fiancé, but I still felt like no one understood what I was going through. Some people even gave their unwanted opinions which made me even more angry.
At first, I truly believed that we would be in the clear as an August couple. I thought there's NO WAY coronavirus is going to last until August... and here we are. It is June and the virus is still here and my state is barely reopening. I was a MESS two weeks ago. I cried every day, took depression naps, and binged on chocolate and chicken nuggets lol - and then it just hit me. All of a sudden I felt acceptance.
So I guess I'm writing this to let you guys know what has helped me accept that our August wedding most likely won't happen in Northern CA (We have 230 guests), but more importantly, what helped me get excited for our new date in 2021.
- I have more time to lose weight
- We just took our engagement pictures and it was SO much fun! I took the positive energy from that shoot and decided that I want to send out "change the date cards". That is something I am looking forward to as we did not send save the date cards to everyone.
- We have more time to save money, which means I can add more flowers to our reception next year
- I have more time for my hair to grow (yay to no extensions!)
And finally, the thing that put it all into perspective. I know it still sucks to have to postpone your wedding, but I just thought to myself, at least I am engaged and everything is planned and ready to go. All we have to do now is wait for the big day.
I was already upset that I was getting married at 26. I REALLY wanted to be married by 24 so I can enjoy my marriage for a few years and start a family before 30. BUT, imagine if I wasn't engaged yet. Imagine if my fiancé decided to propose this year. 1) Wedding planning would be WAY more stressful and 2) We probably wouldn't be able to find a venue/vendors for 2021 because almost every 2020 bride is postponing their wedding. So that would set us back to getting married in 2022.
If you read this far, then I hope you are able to move forward with your wedding and have the day you dreamed of. But if not, then please know that eventually you WILL feel better about all of this. Eventually those tears will dry and you will feel excited about your new wedding date. This situation isn't ideal and it feels like 2020 is the worst year in the world, but to me, it's actually the year of change.
I hope by 2021 the virus has calmed down and we can all enjoy our wedding day. And if you ever need to vent, I am here to listen! 
