TLDR – enjoy our photos!
Was I crazy to start planning an intimate wedding during the pandemic?
First of all, wow I’m married! Second, yes. I was crazy to think I would not encounter any issues while planning an intimate wedding during the pandemic. We decided to get married in Spring 2021 shortly after the initial re-opening of California because we simply didn’t want to wait. And we’re so happy we did. Unfortunately, covid continues to be a threat to our health and will cause delays to all future brides. But first, let’s talk about the struggles I faced while planning our intimate wedding during the Spring of 2021.
Restrictions, restrictions and more restrictions!
We have been looking forward to our wedding since Summer 2019 after we first got engaged. But the pandemic put all our plans to a screeching halt. After a full year of covid, we continued to encountered heavy restrictions while planning an intimate wedding. After much debate, we decided to move forward despite the heavy covid restrictions. We wanted to focus on starting a family and waiting wasn’t an option for us. I cried so much seeing my wedding dress hanging in the closet month after month. We knew there would be guest and location restrictions, not ideal but a reality. After careful consideration, we settled on the magic number of 30 family members and friends for our wedding.
Planning an intimate wedding? cut your guest list
I’ll be very honest, wedding planning during the pandemic will be the most stressful thing ever. Especially because I planned about 85% of our wedding without a planner or JD’s help – he was deep in training/promotion mode. Our guest list had to be reduced 60% and it was an awful feeling. We knew our family and friends would understand given the circumstances but we still felt terrible planning an intimate wedding with so many restrictions. We had new restrictions and updates every few weeks due to the ever changing situation in LA.
Our ceremony location in Wayfarers Chapel, Palos Verdes
As soon as we got engaged in 2019 I started searching for beautiful ceremony locations. I’m extremely thankful I was able to secure Wayfarers Chapel in Palos Verdes as our ceremony venue, prior to Covid. Wayfarers felt really special to me. I fell in love with the beautiful architecture, history, and magical cliff views. Luckily, JD agreed and we secured our initial date, September 5th, 2020. During the entire pandemic, Wayfarers Chapels was extremely accommodating and helpful. They allowed us to change our date as needed and the entire process was hassle-free. We eventually picked our new date, May 1st, 2021.
Unfortunately, our guest had to wear masks during the ceremony as did our pastor. We were able to snag a few images without masks, but we just had to deal with the restriction. Wayfarers also had a social-distancing seating chart we had to follow. We weren’t too peeved by the chart but it did make the venue look a bit sparse during our live streaming.
Prepare yourself for cancellations and have backups
As we approached May 2021, it felt like we were finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Covid restrictions were lifting even more and our planning was near complete. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think our original reception venue would cancel on us 2 weeks before. I can’t explain the horrible feeling I felt crying and writing emails at midnight trying to secure a new venue. It truly sucks and I don’t wish it on anyone else. Thankfully, my pain was short-lived and I was lucky enough to secure Hotel Maya to host our intimate sit-down reception.
Planning an intimate wedding in Hotel Maya Long Beach, CA
Despite the cancelation and crazy 2 week turnaround time, Hotel Maya was exceptional. They were able to schedule a food tasting and a walk-thru of the venue very quickly. Their wedding package had everything we were looking for which made our life so much easier after our cancelation. Planning an intimate wedding was still new to some venues but Hotel Maya had the perfect outdoor space for us. Besides the outdoor space and marina view, our guests really loved their dinner catered by Fuego Restaurant. In the end, the venue cancelation was a blessing in disguise because Hotel Maya really exceeded our expectations.
Wedding day preparations when planning an intimate wedding
Both JD and I stayed at Maya Hotel the night before our wedding to be less stressed about traffic and venue preparations. I luckily hired a day-of-wedding coordinator from Wish Wonder Dream. Karen was such great help in keeping us to our original timeline as well as any hiccups along the way. But of course, like any wedding, not everything is perfect and you just have to go with the flow.
Makeup, hair and dress – nothing will be perfect and thats okay
I had accepted the fact things wouldn’t go exactly as planned on our wedding day. I wasn’t stressed or worried the morning of our wedding and I was going with the flow. However, looking back, I do regret not hiring a makeup or hairstylist. I am very particular with my makeup and I didn’t do a bad job but I didn’t account for my nerves. I wasn’t getting my eye makeup correct and I literally tried 4 times before saying “that’s good enough” lol. My hair was also not cooperating and I stupidly forgot hairspray. One of the most important things I needed for my hair just happened to be the thing I forgot. But I kept pushing through and went with the flow.
On to more positive things, one of my favorite things about our wedding was my Martina Liana dress style 1211 from Bridal Elegance. I honestly cannot rave enough about Bridal Elegance. They have beyond amazing white-glove customer service and so many beautiful dresses in all sizes – I highly recommend them. I loved my dress so much I could not think about changing out of my dramatic sparkly and long train dress for comfort lol – I wore my dress the entire night and I’m so happy I did.
Personally, I did not want to bussle my dress (tie the train) because I felt it was a focal point. But I think it became a bit of a hassle towards the end of the night after a few drinks. In addition, I regret not trying on my dress more often during the pandemic. I realized i kept having to pull up my dress because of how loose it became towards the end of the night. I didn’t need any alterations but had I worn the dress in, I could have avoided this teeny problem. As I’ve said before, not a big deal when you’re celebrating with your family, friends and new husband.
Floral arrangements and bouquet
I honestly feel like the whole Maya Hotel venue came together because of the lovely floral arrangements created by Kevin Reeder. After a quick sit-down with Kevin, we knew we needed him to create our centerpieces. I brought a few inspirational photos to our meeting and he immediately knew what I meant. Within a few minutes, Kevin was able to create a bouquet for us on the spot and nailed it. My bouquet was breathtaking, I honestly was in love with it. One teeny downside was the weight, it was heavy and I mean HEAVY. My tiny wrists were having trouble keeping it up while taking our photos lol but it was well worth it.
