There is no way around it. You’ve been thrown deep into uncharted waters and we’ve had to swim in unusual circumstances that have come our way.
If you had to postpone your special day — be it your wedding, Christening, vow renewals, birthday celebration — or are looking a month or two ahead at a celebration that won’t be taking place, it can be heartbreaking. But chin up! Seriously. If everyone in your family is healthy and sound, this is a great opportunity to tell a great story for generations. My aunt and uncle’s wedding ceremony was interrupted by a circus parade down the street in front of the church. With a ‘heck with it’ spirit, they got the circus to let them ride an elephant. That story and those photos have been talked about for over 50 years now.
While the current situation is a bit more dire than a circus parade, you can still grab it by it’s big elephant ears and ride it into your happy future. The biggest advice is to take it all with as good a belly laugh as you can muster and make a day of it anyway. If you had a really great date picked out for 2020, have a ‘revised’ celebration anyway then hold the bigger celebration at a later time, if you have your heart set on a large gathering of loved ones.
Here are some tips:
- On the day you would have celebrated, do something special anyway. Don’t let it slip away unmarked, if you can help it.
- Send out ‘Meet me in your living room’ cards and ask guest to join you from their own homes.
- Set up fairy lights in your back yard or kitchen or where ever you might hold your virtual ceremony. Add flowers all around.
- Wear a special outfit (if you don’t want to wear your chosen dress/tux) and hold that virtual ceremony happily, because at the end of the day, Love is Love no matter the circumstances.
- Your friends and family can join you via a social platform (Zoom, Google hangouts, FaceBook Live, etc.). If you had guests that could not travel for your special day, this is a great way to include them.
- Advise everyone to be ready with champagne, streamers, confetti.
- Get a celebrant to tell your story and tell it spectacularly! A great celebrant will take you through a ceremony virtually and with flair. You can save it all for any-time viewing. If you are able to complete the legal bits with the HSE, you can still have the wedding date that you originally chose. With the legalities out of the way, you are no longer constrained to hold your wedding in a public location and all of these suggestions are fair game!
- As we can now do very small gatherings, your Celebrant could still hold the ceremony where you are (at a safe distance). You can check with me to see if the date is available. Otherwise, virtually can be great craic too!
In a way, while you may not have the celebration you originally planned and hoped for, you have slightly more freedom to be quirky, playful, and utterly and completely joyful despite it all. Perhaps even less stressed about all the preparations. Less stress is just about always a good thing and it will let you enjoy your special moment even more.
You have a chance to shout out your Love for each other in a way that is unforgettable.
Joyful Celebrant 