You won’t last as a wedding planner if you don’t love the job. It is one of the most rewarding ever – seriously, we wouldn’t change it for the world – but it can be hard work. And 2020? Certainly gave us a run for our money! Hello to learning how to plan a micro wedding in record time. I don’t think we have ever watched the news closer. As March comes to an end, I still can’t believe we are dealing with the threat of COVID-related restrictions in 2021. As couples start to inquire who are recently engaged, there seems to be one main question coming up time and time again: Should I plan my wedding this year or wait?

As Georgia wedding planners, we love to celebrate love. We would hardly encourage you to postpone your wedding, but there are a few things to consider if you are thinking about typing the knot in 2021. They aren’t all bad though – not even close – so if you are looking for some encouragement to “just get married already” – this one is for you! We are also going to address whether or not what you want is really realistic for 2021, or if you should look at booking for 2022 already.

If your head is already spinning and you know you need to hire a wedding planner, make sure to connect with us here (or check out our wedding planning services here).

Planning a 2021 Wedding

If you are planning a wedding in 2021, you have likely considered that you might need to downsize your guest list. That’s not a bad thing though! We went into all of the benefits of a micro wedding here, and it’s more than enough to make an intimate wedding your first choice (and not just a backup plan). Not only do you get to allocate more of your budget to yours and your guests’ experience (instead of just using to feed 100 people!), the overall feel is a lot more relaxed and really special. We definitely recommend splurging on some lounge seating and maybe even some luxury stationery.

If your heart is after a larger affair in 2021, we recommend considering a date later in 2021 and at this point, still having a backup plan. As wedding planners, we would hardly ever suggest you walk into ANY wedding without a backup plan. If having a large wedding is really important to you, consider booking for 2022 instead. If you are already booked for 2021, you might be wondering if you should postpone now or wait and see. There are way too many factors for a blanket answer, so make sure to talk to your wedding planner about your options. If you don’t have a wedding planner, make sure to check your contracts as moving your date will likely cost money and you may lose some, if not all, of the money you have paid your vendors so far.

Waiting until 2022 to get married

If you haven’t started planning your wedding yet, you have the option to wait until 2022 to get married! There are a few benefits to waiting – first, COVID will hopefully be ancient history. There are no guarantees but with the vaccines being rolled out quickly, it’s becoming more and more realistic to think that this will be over soon (soon being relative). You also have a bit more time to enjoy the planning process and save money to pay for the wedding! If you are wondering how much to save, make sure to check out this post about creating your wedding budget based on your guest count.

As you might have already noticed, availability for venues (and other vendors) is fairly limited for 2021 and booking fast for 2022. We don’t say that to scare you, it’s just the reality after all the postponements from last year. Planning your wedding for 2022 will give you more options but you are still going to want to book key vendors fairly quickly (like your wedding planner).

Should you get married in 2021 or 2022?

Ready to plan a micro wedding? As you can see, it’s hard for us to answer here but we would love to have a conversation. Send us a DM on Instagram and let us know which way you are leaning. As “easy” as 2022 might sound, there are still so many reasons to consider 2021 if you don’t want to wait. Even if you do wait until 2022, make sure to read this blog post for the perks of keeping your guest list small. If you are recently engaged and looking to get in touch about your wedding in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina or beyond, make sure to reach out here. We would love to help you get excited about your wedding day – no matter when it is!