The love of your life has finally popped the question. You’re happier than you can imagine and you can’t wait for your wedding day where you can share your love in front of friends and family. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the wedding world, meaning you can’t follow tradition as easily.
Even without the pandemic. planning a wedding can be stressful with all the decisions you need to make. Venues, colour schemes, food, guests, the list is endless! How will you and your partner make the right choices so your guests are comfortable on the day? Where will you buy your dress from? Heck, you’ll need to start saving for that dress now.
Why not avoid the stress, scale down on the admin and do something a little spontaneous instead? Think pop-up store meets surprise party and you’ll know where we’re headed with this – a pop-up wedding! Sound interesting? Here are our top tips to help you plan the perfect one – with zero stress and all the chill.
The venue
While they’re fun and spontaneous, pop-up weddings are more than just eloping. You still need to do some planning. A lot of pop-up weddings happen in public spaces such as parks, carnivals and at events – there really are no limits! You can have it at the end of a marathon you ran together, at a festival you’re attending, or on an intimate little camping trip with your friends.
Think about a place that you and your significant other love, somewhere that has meaning for both of you and that will create an incredible memory or make for epic images. If you’re going to have it at a business like a restaurant, store or tourist attraction, make sure they know what you’re planning so the surprise goes smoothly.
The look and feel
Once you know where your wedding will be, you can decide what you want it to look like. If you’re going to have it in a park or on the beach, you can keep it casual. If you’re opting for something more quirky like a festival or party, why not dress up in crazy costumes or have props on standby? In some instances, all you need is a veil, bow tie and some flowers to seals the deal. You can do whatever you want – that’s the beauty of the pop-up wedding.
Vendors
A pop-up wedding is as intimate as you can get. You only need a handful of guests and if you want to have a little celebration afterwards, all you need to do is head to your favourite restaurant or bar (call ahead to make a reservation so you don’t end up waiting in a long line). Let them know that you’ll be celebrating your union but with a small number of people so you don’t get saddled with a bill for 20 when it’s just you, your bae and two mates. You can also get creative with who you choose to use for your special day. Depending on your venue, you can get food trucks, picnic baskets and great novelty items that will look cute in pics.
Keep it a secret
The loose nature of a pop-up wedding allows you total freedom for your ceremony. You can decide on which traditions you want to keep (such as a bouquet, a veil or throwing confetti) and completely disregard the rest. But one thing you definitely need to stick to is keeping it a secret – imagine the look on your guests’ faces when they realise they’re actually at your wedding! Come up with a great cover for the day, something that will get your guests excited enough to attend and in the right attire without giving too much away. It may be a good idea to let one person in on the surprise, so they can help you execute your plan.
