Engagement Season is Here!
If the cacophony of sound that exploded over the Santa Cruz mountains at midnight on Thursday is any guide, people were pretty excited to see the back of 2020!
Understandably, all over the world people have united over the drama brought by a challenging year and are committed to a fresh, new start in 2021. This is particularly evident with couples taking the plunge; from the newly engaged to those who have been waiting to get married for a long time - there has never been a better time to say yes!
The period between Thanksgiving and Valentines is typically engagement season, but this New Year we are seeing a large increase in the number of couples who want to start the year with purpose by securing their wedding date and booking their venue.
Nothing is as simple as it once was, however! Many venues are not able to offer in-person tours due to Stay at Home Orders and those who can invite guests on property, may have restrictions that mean the couple miss out on the full tour experience.
If you’re venue-shopping for your wedding during a pandemic, here are some tips to help ease the stress!
Where once venues were happy to squeeze drop-ins to their tour schedule, most are now running on skeleton staff and have to work around new tour restrictions. We recommend getting your venue tour on the calendar as much as one month in advance these days. This is particularly important as health departments advise people to stay home for the time being. Plan ahead and you can always reschedule, but don’t wait until the last minute to reach out to your favorite venues!
Bringing your parents and Maid of Honor or Best Man on the wedding venue tour with you is a really fun time and the input of your friends can be really helpful. Now is not the time to tour with others, however. To limit the risk to all involved, make the venue tour a special event for just you and your partner for the time being, you can bring others with you at a later date, when things have calmed down pandemic-wise.
If your venue is not open to tours, find out if they can offer a virtual tour. Boring old videos are a thing of the past; these days, a virtual tour is the Zoom or Facetime version of an in-person tour, and can be almost as good as the real thing.
Consider booking sight-unseen. Yes, this may be just too much of a commitment for some, but we have seen a rise in the number of couples who just want to secure their date at their top choice of venue, and they’re happy to wait to visit in-person. With high quality web photos, Pinterest, and Instagram, it’s easier than ever to get an accurate sense of whether a venue is a good fit, without ever having set foot there.
Understand that no-one has a crystal ball. Of course you will have questions about refund policies and Covid-contingencies, but it is important to understand that 2020 was a unique year and there are some things that we just don’t know. Now that the pandemic is a known-entity, we will all just have to live with it. Everyone in the industry hopes that we never see such strict restrictions for weddings again, but it is important to remember that when you sign your wedding contract you agreeing to all of it’s current terms and conditions. Consider booking your wedding for 2022 or 2023 if you are still concerned about the pandemic, or be more flexible with your guest list and start smaller, just incase!
What a time to be planning a wedding! We are so happy to see that a new year has brought new hope, and wish everyone who is getting engaged or booking their wedding the best of luck!
Photo credit: Alena Evteeva Photography @evteevaalena from Natalie & Thomas’ beautiful spring wedding at Kennolyn’s Hilltop Hacienda
Kennolyn has two wonderful venues for outdoor weddings with towering redwood groves in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Use the blue button below for more information!