I woke up last Tuesday morning to an email that read,

“I hope you and your family are safe and well in the midst of everything going on right now. I’m not sure if you’re still able to work in the middle of all of this, but if so, I thought I’d put in a request for a post. I could really use some thoughts for how to help my sister and her fiancé, whose wedding was supposed to be April 18.”

After explaining her situation a bit further, she went on to say,

“While there isn’t much out there about what to do when a pandemic hits the world and everyone has to maintain distance, I wondered if you had any tips that could apply.”

Since receiving that email, I’ve gone back and forth on how to even write a post that could adequately address what’s going on in the wedding world right now. The reality is that these are unprecedented times and all of my years of experience couldn’t have prepared me for something like this. That being said, I wouldn’t be a Modern MOH if I didn’t at least try. 

So the first thing I did was to email my tribe and ask for their advice. The amount of creative ideas I received was overwhelming. From there I was able to do some further research and narrow it down to three practical ways to support any bride-to-be during these uncertain times.

1. Send a Personal Care Package or Date Night Kit

To help your bride deal with the stress she must be feeling right now, bring the spa to her by sending a homemade care package. Here are some ideas for what to include:

• Bath bombs 
• Essential oils
• Aromatherapy candle
• Face mask
• Gel eye mask
• Body/foot scrub
• Deep hair conditioner

And if you don’t have the time to put together a DIY basket, consider sending her a wellness subscription box like TheraBox or Bath Bevy!

Give your bride and groom a reason to celebrate despite the circumstances by sending them a date night kit full of these fun ideas:

• Bottle of wine or champagne
• Gift card to a local delivery restaurant
• Popcorn/Snacks
• Candy/Chocolates
• Board/Card games

If you are looking for a simpler way to send a thoughtful gift, check out the app Givingli. This platform allows you to send electronic gift cards from a variety of popular retailers including a hand drawn, designer card that you can customize with a personalized message.

2. Host a Virtual Girls Night

Keep your bride’s spirits high by hosting a virtual get-together with your fellow bridesmaids. This could serve as an alternative to the bridal shower, bachelorette party, or simply as a much-needed girls night. While there are a variety of ways to pull this off, here are a few platforms/apps to help you do so:

• Virtually connect through Zoom, Skype or Google Hangouts
• Use the Netflix Party app to watch movies/shows at the same time
• Download the Houseparty app for playing games
• Create a playlist on Spotify for everyone to listen to

Extra ideas for your virtual girls night:

• Pick a fun theme and have everyone dress accordingly 
• Plan a virtual happy hour with a signature cocktail
• Play Bundle– a one-of-a-kind personalized board game!

3. Create a Virtual Guestbook

Remind your bride and groom just how many people are thinking of them by getting their loved ones involved. One of the best ways to do so is by creating a ‘virtual guestbook’ full of personal messages from family and friends. Here’s a few ways to go about it: 

• Use the COMMEMO platform to collaborate on a custom photo book
• Record and send video messages through the Marco Polo app
• Start a Facebook group and invite all wedding guests to join

Be sure to remind contributors to keep their messages positive and not pitying! The whole goal of this is to lift the bride and groom’s spirits, not to remind them of all they’ve lost.