Kissing 2020 Goodbye

New Years Day seems to have an all new feeling of renewal as we bid farewell to 2020. For our team at The Carrington, we are excited for our 4th year in business. We get to celebrate love with so many amazing couples and have some really exciting community and entertainment events on the schedule. But let’s be honest… you are here for the pictures and so are we.

As for these incredible pictures, can you say MOOD?!?! We are just in awe of how creative and stunning this Editorial style look at a bridesmaid on the day of is. Just wow!! Major kudos to this incredible team AuburnRae Photography, Pink Parasol Designs & Coordinating, Pens & Needles Co., Makaela Moya, Eric Jentsch, Amici Cucina Italiana & Model Shelia Jason.

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Justin & Liz Cole

Liz & Justin’s October 2019 wedding was everything a Fall wedding should be in Texas. A slight crisp in the air, dynamic fall flower, colors & textures and that stunning light. Needless to say we are smitten!! Check out their gorgeous pics below from Jason Joy Photography and get a few of the fun details of the day. 

 

These vibrant Fall Flowers from Copper & Birch were something to OBSESS OVER!!

 

Va Va Voooom Liz’s found the perfect dress from Blush Bridal Lounge

 

Justin’s tux from The Black Tux was suave AF!!

 

Every detail was perfectly curated and styled by Pink Parasol Designs & Coordinating.

Liz’s Maid Of Honor was her AUNT!!! How cute is that?

 

Marcella with #FineArtBuda created this gorgeous fall chalk art.

 

These tabletop details from Bee Lavish and Premiere Events coordinated perfectly together… LOVE

 

As always every shot captured the joy and excitement of the evening perfectly… Cause that’s how Jason does it!! Special thanks to Vida Films (wedding video to come later on the blog) Creekside Cookers and Austin’s Top Notch Entertainment.

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Diaries of a COVID-19 Bride

Me: I’m going to be the chillest bride ever!

COVID-19: Hold my beer.

As a former event planner, I assumed that I was prepared for anything wedding planning had to throw my way. Well…you know what they say when you assume.

After our destination wedding plans fell through in late February (that’s a story for another day), we decided that with only eight months left to plan, having the wedding in Texas, where we live, would be significantly less stressful.

We were getting ready to take a two-week trip to New Zealand, and I did not want to spend our vacation worrying about the wedding. I posted in a wedding vendor group on Facebook, asking if anyone happened to have our date — 10/10/2020, the most in-demand date of the year — still open. I was pleasantly surprised to find that several venues did, but fell in love with The Carrington. The space itself is stunning and has so much character, Cari and Franci made me feel completely at ease with their expertise as planners, and the location was convenient for our guests, being just outside of Austin.

Within 72 hours, our wedding was back on, and we left for vacation feeling relieved and excited.

Five days after we got back, the country shut down. I thought, ‘This will give me so much time to plan! Everything will blow over in a few weeks!’

*Facepalm*

Cue the series of ups and downs, highs and lows, WTF are we going to do’s.

‘Do we continue to book vendors, or do we pause?’ ‘What if we CAN have our wedding, but we can’t do XYZ as planned?’ ’Will it be safe for 90% of our guests to travel by October?’

These are still questions we ask each other, even after stating repeatedly that we’re just going to take it one day at a time.

Having been in the wedding industry for years, seeing both sides has had a huge impact on our decisions. I’ve seen the heartbreak in watching friends postpone, but also surrounding the financial ramifications of cancellations and postponements from my vendor friends.

I’ve shared in the fear and anxiety of the decision to have our wedding, and the fear of my vendor friends in resuming weddings. On the flip side: The fear of not resuming weddings.

At the end of the day, we all need to take a breath, and remember that this is uncharted territory for everyone. We’re ALL scared. Frustrated. Tired.

The decision is and will continue to be different for every couple. Personally, we have decided to continue moving forward with planning, knowing full-well that things could change due to state regulations. Is this scary? Yes. Will we be sad if it doesn’t happen this year? Of course. But I’ve always been a glass-half-full kind of girl.

I keep telling myself that if we do have to postpone, at least our planning is done and we can relax for the next year.

Also, who’s to say that we can’t still have some sort of epic elopement this year, and celebrate with a vow-renewal and reception later on?

I also keep coming back to this: Yes, the wedding is important. But at the end of the day, you’re having the wedding because you want to marry your person. And that, you will.

Just think of the pandemic as the ultimate pre-marital counseling. If y’all can get through this, you can get through ANYTHING.

For better, for worse.

-Lauren

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How to Announce a Change of Date to Your Wedding

Your Guide to Changing the Date of Your Wedding with Invitation Etiquette and Examples// A guest blog by Jordan Standing (Former Carrington Bride & Stationery Guru)

As if wedding planning isn’t stressful enough on its own, chances are if you are reading this, you are one of those lucky brides navigating this crazy time of planning a wedding during a pandemic! The good news is that we are here to ease the pain for you and help you with those tricky instances that are new in this Covid-19 wedding world.  First up is how to appropriately and politely inform your guests of a change of date, postponement, or even in some cases elopement/cancellation (shoutout to you rebels!!!). 

Obviously the first thing that needs to happen is to figure out which of those routes you are taking and to talk with all of your current vendors to get everything worked out logistically! Once you have figured out the best option for you as a couple and have a plan set, it’s super important to get that information to your guests ASAP!! This is where we come in to help, how on earth should you do that and what is considered “proper etiquette” during these unprecedented times? But remember, these times are just that, unprecedented. So don’t get too caught up on what might be considered appropriate etiquette and what is not, the most important thing is what is right for you and your future spouse! Read on below for all of the best ways, no matter what route you choose to take!

How to Tell your Wedding Guests you are Changing the Date

Congrats!! You have a new date! This is one of the easier scenarios to fix, but also the most time sensitive to get your guests to know about the new plan! You have a couple options to choose and depending on how soon the new date is, it may help determine which method you choose.

A Change the Date Card

This is a great option for the couple who has already sent out invitations and has several months before the new wedding date. You will have enough time in between the expected date and new date to alert your guest list in a formal way with proper stationery.

A Change the Date Evite

This option is best if your wedding invitations have already been sent out but your new date is quickly approaching and you need to get the word out quickly. There are many different platforms online that are currently offering these options. You can also reach out to local stationery vendors to create a custom digital invite for you to send out quickly!

A Change the Date Email and Wedding Website Update

This option is good for the couple that needs to get the word out IMMEDIATELY, as in you are supposed to get married next week. While this may not be ideal, it is the most efficient way to get the word out to your entire guest list quickly.  For the non-tech-savvy guests, you may have to make a few phone calls! It’s also important to make all of the appropriate updates on your wedding website and link that in your email as well. If your new date is not in the near future, you can always opt to send out a formal change of date wedding invitation after the initial email is sent and the guests have been informed.

Wording Examples

  1. Change of Date! The Wedding of [   ] & [   ] will now be on _______.
  2. Change of Plans! Due to the current events, we are changing our wedding date! 
  3. Due to unforeseen events, we are changing our wedding date! Please mark your calendars with our new date.
  4. Please Save our New Date, we can’t wait to celebrate!
  5. We can’t wait to celebrate! Just at a later date… In light of the current events, our wedding date has changed to _____.

How to Tell your Wedding Guests that you are Postponing your Wedding

This option is ideal for those of you that may have sent out Save the Dates but not the formal invitation just quite yet! Lucky you!!! This option allows you to inform your guests that the old “Save The Date” is no longer valid but also let them know that a new wedding date and invitation is to be anticipated.  This is also an ideal option for the couples who are choosing to wait a while before jumping back into the wedding planning world and letting things calm down a bit before choosing a new date! 

You can use any of the same methods as the Change the Date folks above but below are some ideal wording examples for you:

Wording Examples

  1. Due to unforeseen circumstances and a lot of thought, we have decided to postpone our wedding to a later date. 
  2. Postponed! The wedding of [   ] & [   ] that was set to take place on _____ will now take place on a later date. Formal Invitation to follow with our new chosen date.
  3. With heavy hearts, we have made the decision to postpone our big day! Stay tuned for our new date, we can’t wait to celebrate!
  4. Dear family and friends, in light of current events we have chosen to postpone our wedding day. New wedding date to come soon.
  5. Postponed! We are unfortunately postponing our wedding day so that we can all celebrate safely. New wedding coming soon!

How to Tell your Wedding Guests that you Eloped!

First of all, CONGRATS!  Second of all, this is a fun one and there are endless creative ways to announce this one! You can also use any of the same methods listed above, as in an actual Elopement Announcement Card, an E-Card, or even a social media post! But below are some wording examples specifically for you!

Wording Examples

  1. We Eloped! Our love couldn’t wait but we still want to celebrate. Details to follow.
  2. We Eloped! Due to unforeseen circumstances and a lot of thought, we have decided to cancel our wedding and elope! A celebration will be coming soon, stay tuned!
  3. We do, so we did! In light of current events, we decided to elope!
  4. Dear friends, in light of current events and a lot of thought we have chosen to cancel our wedding day. Surrounded by our immediate families we chose to elope on ____! 
  5. Love is all you need! We eloped!
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