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! 😵

• Eat cake!

If you can get hold of the flour (LOL) why not bake a cake to go with that bubbly? It doesn't need to be a full on wedding cake of course - how about a heart shaped Victoria sponge or some iced cookies? They don't need to be up to the standard of The Biscuiteers or Peggy Porschen but you can have a lot of fun baking and decorating them together (and then fighting over who gets to lick out the bowl afterwards!)

• Have a romantic dinner!

Plan a special menu and cook a romantic dinner together with some nice treats - or have something  delivered. And then get dressed up to enjoy it!

• Selfie time!

 (Photo by (and of) lovely chicphotobyjacqui)

Dress up and have a photo session! And it doesn't need to be your actual wedding outfits of course - just an excuse to buy another dress eh girls?! One of my lovely wedding photographers (Jacqui at Chic Photo) did this recently and her photos are incredible! OK, so she's an amazing professional photographer and your shots might not look quite like this, but have a go! It's all about making memories... Another of my wedding photographers (the fantastic Trevor Wilson!) is also planning to get his couples out for a day-our-wedding-should-have-been celebratory photoshoot when the corona virus restrictions are relaxed a bit. Great idea eh?! Another nice way to mark your original big day is to spend a bit of time making a collage or photo book of all of your favorite photos from your time together. It'll remind you of all of those happy moments in your journey so far and you can start looking forward to the next adventure - your big day!

• Party!

Yeah, party like it's 2020 - i.e. online! 🥳 Look, we all know that it's never the same as the real thing, but it can still be fun to have a 'not the real wedding' party or a virtual happy hour with your friends and family. Dress up and tell everyone else to dress up too! I bet they'll all be delighted to celebrate with you! Get some music on, have a dance, enjoy a sing song, knock it back and maybe have a laugh with a silly 'Mr and Mrs To Be' quiz! Go on, it'll be a laugh!

• Light up the love!

For a more romantic feeling, light a love candle... You might be planning to do this as part of your wedding ceremony and if you light the candle together, it's a lovely way to symbolise your (soon to be) joining together in marriage...

• Scoff those treats!

If you had already bought edible favours for your reception guests, tuck into them now! Come on, they won't last anyway, so you might as well start ploughing through them! 😋 Don't know about you, but if Tunnocks are involved, they just call to me from the cupboard until they're gone! But if by some miracle, there are a few left over after your mega binge, send them out to your nearest and dearest as a wee treat. That'll put a smile on their faces (not that teacakes and snowballs are easy to post, so yeah, just polish those off!)

• Share the loving cup!

If you were planning to drink from a quaich (aka 'the loving cup') during your ceremony, why not practice now? There's quite an art to both of you holding the quaich at the same time and not spilling the drink all over each other! And take it from me (guys!), you do NOT want to do that on your wedding day, especially if the contents of the quaich are orange. I'm thinking whisky here, but yes, a few of my couples have (bravely) chosen Irn Bru over the years! It is Scotland's REAL national drink after all, but mad or what?!

• Pucker up!

(photo credits: top left Parris Photography; top middle Tub of Jelly; middle middle Heyes Images; middle right Sophie James; bottom left Natural Wedding Photography; bottom middle Imagine Images/; the rest yours truly)

Why not perfect that wedding kiss while you're about it? There's an art to that too and IMHO, it involves a 4 second hold, with no pecks, no snogs and definitely no tongues! Watch a few screen kisses (sorry guys, cue the rom coms here!), have fun and remember that practice makes perfect!

• Do a little origami!

Why not start making origami paper cranes? These cute little things are a symbol of love in Japan and the bride is supposed to make 1,000 of them to demonstrate her patience and commitment to the marriage. What?! 😲 Well, that's a big fat NO from me! Not your thing either? Well why not make them together? It's a real labour of love and they make lovely wedding decorations and/or keepsakes for your guests!

• Binge on sweeties!

Buy love themed sweeties for each other and enjoy the sugar rush together. How about Love Hearts, Haribo rings or chocolate hearts?

• Write some words of Love!

(Photo created by the fantastically talented Vincent Bourilhon)

For those of a romantic inclination, how about writing each other a love letter? You could always write it on what would have been your wedding day and open it on what WILL be your wedding day. Or how about a penning paragraph each entitled, 'Why do I want to marry this lovely person/beauty/hunk/fine specimen/numpty/idiot/muppet?' (delete as appropriate).

• Plan your honeymoon!

Why not spend a bit of time fine-tuning your honeymoon plans? You might have already decided where you're going, but have you researched it properly? What activities are there at the resort? Are there any interesting sights to see or things to do? Where are you going to eat? And with that in mind (time to fess up!), is there anyone else out there who enjoys salivating over restaurant menus and isn't beyond deciding what to eat before you even get there?! Yep, that's me! And if a honeymoon abroad isn't looking likely (sob!), then plan a mini-moon in lovely Scotland instead (yay!).  And don't forget that you'll have all of your lives together to explore the rest of the world....

(Photo by Trevor Wilson Silver Photography)

• Send out change the date cards!

If you haven't already done it, why not spend some time choosing or designing 'Change the Date' cards? There are some great ideas online and you can all sorts of fun with the 'knot yet', 'unsave the date', 'roll with it - let's try this again' sort of theme!

I love this one from hiphiphooray.com:

This is also a cracker from TheTbird:

And another goodie from pangga_designs:

There are also templates available that you can print at home or electronic profiles if you'd rather e-message friends and family and save on the paper. 

• Dance!

(Photo credits: top Emma Gray Photography; middle Imagine Wedding Images; bottom Ashley Coombes)

Decide on your reception playlist, have a drink or two - and go on, you know you want to - sing along and boogie on down! And if you haven't chosen your first dance track yet, why not try dancing to your faves so that you can make a final decision? By the way, if you can't dance, how about taking this extra time to learn? There are tons of YouTube videos - try Howcast for a traditional waltz or a rumba for example. It's better than shuffling awkwardly around the floor with everyone watching (err... yep, I am indeed talking from experience!). It doesn't have to be a full on 'Dirty Dancing' routine and you might not be on 'Strictly' any time soon, but a few simple steps can make you look and feel fab-u-lous on the dance floor! And once the restrictions are lifted, why not sign up for a class? Mary and Adam from Co-step run a range of classes in the Central belt for example. By the way, I reckon that if you can survive dancing lessons without killing each other, your marriage will be rock solid! It isn't easy, so expect some sore toes and the odd mid floor 'domestic' when one of you mucks it up, but I can confidently guarantee that you'll have a great laugh together!

• Laugh!

(Photo credits, left to right from top:  Jenniflower Weddings; Jenniflower Weddings; Stylish Images; Crieff Photography; Whyler Photos; Zoe Alexandra Photography; Natural Wedding Photography; family member; Ryan White Photography)

And that's it! Above all, have a laugh together! Let's see those double chins! Seriously (and yep, this is indeed super cheesy) building a strong marriage is all about weathering the storms together and learning to laugh in the rain...

If there was ever a storm, this is it, but this horrible time for all of us WILL be over at some point soon, things WILL return to normal and you WILL marry the person you love. In the meantime, find some fun ways to celebrate that love! 💗


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