Tying the knot during a Pandemic- Welcome to the new norm

You've been planning your wedding for months, maybe years (if you're one of those no judgments here)… then boom, an extra curveball is thrown your way.

One, which i'm pretty sure wasn't on any Bride to Be's
"Things- to -Plan- For" Checklist.

A Pandemic.
Awesome.
Bride-Zilla mode on.

Getting married during a pandemic- Welcome to the roller coaster ride.

We spoke to a few Heather McDowall Brides and asked them how they pulled off their pandemic wedding? If they had to do it all over again, would they postpone? And most importantly what advice do they have for pandemic brides of the future?

Christina (Centre) - Planning a wedding during COVID-19 gave me severe anxiety, I spent most days keeping up with all the NSW Health reports, trying to come up with a new game plan, a new strategy. I did have a backup plan for all types of restrictions however I was fortunate enough to have had my wedding two weeks after all restrictions were eased. 

It’s not easy planning a wedding during COVID but my biggest advice to brides who are going through it is to stop worrying about things you can’t control and never feel like you have to go through it alone!

Join wedding and bridal groups like the Wedded Wonderland Facebook group, communicate to fellow brides, share your feelings and experiences.

Create a backup plan, fall in love with your backup plan because no matter what life throws at you, no matter how many people you can attend or how many people can and can’t dance - your wedding day is the most beautiful moment in your life.

Don’t let anything bring you down.

Christina - Everyone will tell you how quickly the day goes, how quickly the lead up goes, and you don’t realise until after the wedding how right they are.

You are constantly on the move, surrounded by a number of people who all love you and want to cherish this important moment with you but don’t get distracted from why you are really there – to marry your soul mate.

Put some time aside for just you and your new husband. I was fortunate enough to allocate 20 minutes where my husband and I got to view our reception and take it all in, just the two of us.

It was the highlight of my wedding, the time we got to spend together just cherishing a moment we will both remember forever.

Q-We love you chose Heather McDowall hair clips for your Bridesmaids! Why?

Christina - I decided to style my bridesmaids with Heather McDowall hair clips because I was after a bridesmaid look that was traditional, yet modern; elegant, yet different.

When I was looking for inspiration, I was inspired by the Versace spring summer 2018 styling. Their hairstyles were unique, clean and sleek – it helped inspire my final decision to incorporate hair clips.

Adding accessories to the overall bridesmaid look allowed the bridesmaids to feel spectacular and more than just a guest. I fell in love with the hair clips because of their modern simplicity, it allowed me to provide an edge to the girls' looks that was still traditional and elegant.

The hair clips were the missing piece, the cherry on top. Brides who are after a hair accessory for their bridesmaids that are affordable and not too excessive, I highly recommend Heather McDowall’s hair clips.

Q- Do you have any regrets about getting married during COVID-19? Do you feel you should have waited?

Ashlee (Pictured) -  No, definitely no regrets here. Throughout the entire COVID-19 pandemic both Mark and I have shared the view that we would continue to live our lives as we did previously, not allowing other contributing factors to dictate our everyday living.

When it came to booking our wedding and navigating what that would look like, we defied all odds I think. We reside in Tasmania, however we opted to venture to Queensland and get married in a little town called Kalbar and we pulled it off.

We understood that getting married interstate would mean not everyone would be able to attend, whether that be through fear of the virus or through fear of the possibility of quarantine upon their return home however we accepted this and we were not prepared to give up our dream, after all, it was our wedding.

I definitely do not feel we should have waited and nor do I think anyone should be waiting either at the moment with the climate we are currently in around COVID. I believe if you are waiting for the perfect moment to have your wedding, you will be waiting a very long time, there will always be something in the way, and at the end of the day we need to keep living.

I believe like any event, you need to just continue to plan for it as if it is going to happen and hope that when the time comes, the sliding doors are in your favour. For Mark and I, irrespective of how our wedding played out, we had agreed that we would marry a year to the day from when Mark proposed, as long as we were both there, nothing else mattered, our wedding was small and intimate and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Q- Tell us about your experience with Heather McDowall. 

Ashlee - Amazing!
I had a bridal headpiece custom made for me. She absolutely nailed the brief; yellow gold, classy, elegant and most of all snobby! Heather is an absolute breeze to work with; she is professional, kind, and understanding.

She made me feel that from the start I had made the right decision in trusting her to make such a special significant piece, I cannot recommend her enough.

Once she had completed my piece, she sent me photos which were amazing, however seeing this headpiece in person, my God, it was even more stunning than the photos.
I literally want another excuse to wear it! 

Q- Describe the Custom Made process with Heather McDowall

Ashlee - I sent Heather a picture of my dress, no headpiece inspo photos, however we discussed how I would be wearing my hair, if I would have a veil and my budget so she knew the limitations.

Heather sent though some reference images to make sure we were on the same page. It was like she was in my head and she just knew what I wanted.