Please give advice

We are doing our small ceremony in our family home. Luckily we have a big enough outdoor space with garden so everything will be outside for 14 ppl. I bought some decor online; arch, table covers, outdoor chairs, covers, and sashes. All from amazon and it arrived within a week. My original date was in May and we had to move it to the end of June. I plan to have a hand sanitizer station and extra masks for my guests to wear if they wish. We are also just ordering our family meal from a local restaurant. During these times all we can do is adjust to things and stay positive. Im sure you can still plan something very nice by June 11th.

Sorry I meant to write June 13th. Also, just explain to your family you truly want to get married soon and need their help in preparing. And that it’ll still be special even if it wasn’t what you originally planned because they’ll be there with you. This may help them be more excited.

View Quoted Comment Thank you for your advice. It’s sounds like you have planned a beautiful day. It’s awesome you are able to use your yard. I wish we could do that but unfortunately we are renting a duplex we are and it doesn’t have a very large yard. I am trying to find a local outdoor area that is open to use during this time.

View Quoted Comment Oh, I see. Have you thought of maybe renting a house with a nice yard for the day through Airbnb or something similar. We actually considered this idea as well before deciding on my family home.

I feel you! Our original date was July 26, but we moved it up to June 16 due to COVID and because we have to move (the originally date was for after we moved). We're getting married at the church I grew up going to (although haven't been in years), and the pastor there is going to marry us. I would say (if you don't have a church), still call around to nearby churches. Ours doesn't have their COVID recovery plan in place yet and aren't open for services, but they sent a request to the board and they approved that we could have our wedding there.
We aren't inviting anyone non-family- the only guests are my siblings and parents, and the best man because unfortunately my fiance is from out of town so his family is only able to join remotely. His family asked if they should come and we told them no because we don't want them traveling (they would have to fly), so that's how we're minimizing risk for our loved ones. I've been seeing my family during quarantine so the only new people we'd come in contact with are the pastor and the best man (although they hung out yesterday, lol). Then we are broadcasting on YouTube live and sharing the link with everyone. My mother in law is making everyone special face masks (ones that say bride, groom, officiant, witness) for the few that will attend- you can also find some on Etsy! Basically we will ask people to wear the masks while running around helping before and after the ceremony.

Decor- our original venue had the candles and an outside arbor that we had a florist for, so we didn't really have centerpieces or anything already. Luckily my cousin got married in April and had decor from her wedding (and things she didn't use) that I am using. We are marking the aisle with little lanterns and signs that have the love is patient love is kind scripture (I'll attach a picture, sorry for the poor quality I just made these and need to touch them up and may add more flowers). And at the altar the church has a wooden cross they are putting out that will have white fabric draped on it (usually they use it around Easter). We will also have some white balloons and have them filled and tie them to the church railing right outside the door, so it'll be nice for pictures. So what we have is simple but I think nice.


There's still details to work out... like salons here are still closed so that's stressful. We may do a picnic (takeout from somewhere) with my family on the church lawn, but we're not sure. We are hoping to get a hotel for the night if they're open, but that can't be planned right now. As the details somehow come together we remind each other that we're getting married and finding joy in that alone.
I understand your frustration with everything. But I hope that you can revisit why to married now- because you love each other and just want to be married already! My mom asked me the same thing- I didn't get offended (it was just annoying/frustrating). I think it's because our parents envision our big day too, and they're disappointed that everything is different and maybe don't know how to express it perfectly. At the end of the day, me and my fiance can stress about the details but we are excited that we have all we need- each other and our marriage certificate!