What can we do to mark our original big day if our wedding has been postponed?

The corona virus crisis has been a very difficult time for everyone and I really feel for you if you've had to (or will have to) postpone your big day. It's a difficult decision to make (or have imposed on you) and finding a new date can be stressful and time consuming. But one thing I will say is that once it's done, you'll feel a whole lot better! You can then re-set the wedding countdown and start looking forward to it all over again. And don't forget that every cloud has a silver lining - it'll give you more time to arrange or save up for a few little extras!

But what about your original wedding date - should you mark or celebrate that in some way? Definitely, in my opinion! And here are a few ideas to get you going:

• Crack open the bubbly!

Personally, I never need an excuse to open a bottle of bubbly, but if there was ever an occasion when it's an absolute must, this is it! You could even conduct a Prosecco/champagne tasting if you can't quite decide  which one to have on your big day... Enjoy - hic! 😵

Can we have secrets and surprises in our ceremony?

(revealing some secrets to the groom at Glenskirlie Castle. Photo by Suzanne Hodgson at naturalweddings) 

The short answer is yes, of course! Naturally the actual marriage can't be a surprise to either the bride or groom (there is more information on this on the National Records of Scotland website), but you could make it a surprise for your guests. I've conducted several baby naming ceremonies now that have turned into weddings and no one apart from the couple knew about it beforehand! Brilliant!

Secrets and surprises can be a lot of fun and with that in mind, here's one that was revealed, in all it's glory, on what turned out to be a great fun wedding day:

Please rest assured that it isn't a legal requirement for the Celebrant to inspect the groom's undergarments before the bride's arrival! 😁 I think you'll agree that Stuart's were kind of special though! Yes that's me on the left - I couldn't not look now could I?! It took a while before I got my face straight again for the arrival of the lovely bride by the way (thanks to Sophia and Stuart for the laughs at The Cruin that day!)

Seriously, there are lots of ways to include secrets and surprises in your wedding. The way I work is to draft the whole ceremony for you and email it to you a few months beforehand. This means that you'll be very familiar with everything I'm going to say, so it's really nice if there are one or two wee surprises. It helps to give the ceremony a bit of sparkle for you on the day. So, how can you do this? Here are a few ideas for you:

What advice do you have about incorporating music into the ceremony?

The first thing to say is that anything goes! Well, almost! Given that you've chosen to have a humanist ceremony, religious music (including a hymn) isn't suitable, but there are so many other options - classical, jazz, pop, rock, folk, you name it.......

You need music in 3 main parts of the ceremony - for the entry of the bride ('processional' music), during the signing of the Marriage Schedule and for the bride and groom to leave ('recessional' music). Think carefully about the mood you want to create during each part of the ceremony - for example, most people choose something light and reflective to accompany the signing of the Marriage Schedule (about 5 minutes of music is ideal, so 2 tracks is perfect), but then have something with more impact for the end of the ceremony - to make everyone smile and to get the party started! 

I've had a few couple recently where the bride has chosen the song she wants to enter to and kept it a secret from the groom (hoping to get a tear out of him of course!) It's a great idea, especially if you girls are happy to let the guys choose the last track for your grand exit and keep that a secret from you! LOL!