It was always supposed to be all about the two of you…

Do you remember that your wedding was supposed to be all about you and your partner, a celebration of your love! Maybe you don’t because ever since you’ve heard the words “Will you marry me” sooooo much has happened. So much planning, a date and a venue choice, the list of the guests to work through, will you invite auntie Jo? And the cousins…do they really ALL need to come? You’ve also picked your dress, your celebrant, your makeup artist and all the dresses for the bridesmaids…and the flowers of course. All of the planning may have made you forget that it was all supposed to be about you two. Yes, just the two of you!

1. Turn it into a fun day!

I know you must be disappointed but please don’t stay home feeling sorry for yourself. Instead make sure you celebrate YOUR day. Make it all about YOU! What’s your favourite thing to do together? Go on a hike to Mount Tamborine? Go to the Village Roadshow theme parks on the Gold Coast? Have a relaxing afternoon and watch the sunset on Burleigh Hill? Binge watch TV series on Netflix? Axe throwing maybe? Staying in a super fancy Hotel? (Thanks to COVID they are pretty affordable these days).

Just do it! You don’t have any excuse not to do it and you don’t need any reason to do it! 

2. Do the things you actually wanted to do – no pressure no one to please

I am pretty sure that when planning your big day, a lot of choices were made to accommodate your family and guests… and some were maybe not what you would have loved to do. Well, the great news is that now you can! Yes, you wanted to wear a very relaxed and simple backless dress that you saw in a vintage shop but might not have been everyone’s cup of tea, go buy it! You wish you could have worn your favourite skinny jeans paired up with come cool converse, yes you can! You can still celebrate this special day and you get to do and wear what you “really” want!

3. What a cool story to tell your kids

I personally think that it is a really cool story to tell your kids one day. A story of resilience, adaptability and finding the good, even in hard times. Whilst you may not be completely aware of it right now, marriage is hard work and full of surprises (Yay!). You will have to make compromises and go over hurdles you never imagined you would come across. Let’s just look at your wedding postponement as a little “amuse bouche” to married life. One day you will look at this and laugh about it…yes I promise, one day you will. 

4.You always wanted to elope somewhere, just the 2 of you…DO IT!

I have a secret to tell you…I eloped for my wedding! The real deal elopement, just my husband and I. Whenever I tell our wedding story, people’s first reaction is always something along the lines of “Really, what did your family think?” Which my answer is “I don’t know”…I actually never asked them… but the second thing they say is pretty much always “I wish I had eloped for my wedding, you’re so lucky you did”. I can’t tell you how many people have said to me that they wished they had eloped and were actually quite jealous of how easy and stress-free our wedding was.

…So, if you’ve always wanted to elope but didn’t want to upset anyone, it’s your chance, DO IT! In your own backyard, in a small COVID safe venue as we call them now, an Airbnb, a tiny home whichever feels like YOU. Every single state has amazing options and hidden gems that are just waiting for you.  The best part is that you don’t even have to find excuses or worry about what people will think!  😊

5. Make new memories and take pictures

Take pictures of that special day, whether you are staying at home or taking a staycation. Take lots of them. Time will tell but you might even prefer those pictures to the ones of your actual wedding (if you end up doing something and if it is safe to do so). Why? Because they are important to you, they will tell your story. This day is ALL about you…for REAL!!! How amazing is that! It is the day YOU chose to celebrate your love, your way. The story behind the photo is what you make of it. Choose to look at it as refusing defeat and making something amazing out of a pretty crappy situation.  

I really hope you make the most of the day you had originally chosen to celebrate your love. Marriage will test you and things will not always go to plan, you will learn to adapt, to compromise, to make the most of any situation you will find yourself in….together, as a couple. I guess you are just having a little taste of it already 😊 

P.S. We signed our marriage paperwork at the Sydney registry (as we needed witnesses to make it official) and eloped a month later for our amazing “non official” wedding…BONUS, we get to celebrate our “wedding” twice a year…see where I am going with this… you could celebrate your wedding twice every year too! If like me, you celebrate EVERYTHING, you will love that! 😊  

PPS: It looks like I have a lot to say about elopements so my next article will very likely be about it…and how amazing elopements are.