So… what happens if you are planning your big day around the same time two is about to turn in to a family of three??
Planning the arrival or a little one while in the midst of planning your wedding day can, understandably, be overwhelming…
When you’ve got prams and baby grows to consider, thoughts of ceremony readings and favours can go on the back burner. But that doesn’t mean you have to put the plans for your big day on hold – especially if those bits are important to you.
I recently assisted Caroline and Greg with their wedding whilst the couple were expecting a baby, and was thrilled when they agreed to share their invaluable advice alongside some planning tips on planning a wedding when pregnant or with a newborn.
I thought it would make a great post, especially given at least 3 of my brides from the past year have had their newborns at their wedding as their guest of honour!
Juggling Work and a New Baby While Planning a Wedding
Caroline’s top 3 nuggets of wisdom:
- It’s hard! Don’t be afraid to ask for help or seek professional assistance. Maybe it’s from friends or family for many, but for us we are so relieved we hired a professional wedding planner – without that help from Laura (thanks Caroline!), without the reassurance someone just ‘had it’, we wouldn’t have had the best day that we had.
- Take care of yourself! Many times this amount of responsibility was unachievable and we were running on adrenaline to get us through. Thank you to Laura, and all out friends and family supporting us through the busiest time of our lives!
- While the lead up changed, if we had postponed the wedding, the actual day would not have gone any better – so remember that if you are getting married with a new baby, it is all worth it!
Post-Baby Dress Fitting Advice
Having had her baby a short 4 months before her big day (doesn’t she look AMAZING?!), I also thought some words of advice and comfort from Caroline might be great on the dress side too!
Because, being married myself, I could have done with advice and comfort anyway, even though I hadn’t even had a baby!
- BE KIND TO YOURSELF
- It’s not easy if you have found the dress pre-pregnancy – I went through a lot of doubts about how I felt about the dress and worried I wouldn’t fit back in it, but I’m glad I stuck with the same dress I fell in love with – there were alterations to be done though of course!
- Having said that, don’t stress about that! Be the healthiest you can be – I saw a personal trainer twice a month (this was more for the birth than the dress!) to ensure I worked out healthily, but was still able to give in to my twiglet and fruit gums cravings whenever I needed to!
- If you are breastfeeding, really plan for needing more space on top
- I was lucky, but be open to what happens if the planned dress doesn’t work out (as hard at that sounds)
- If you haven’t chosen the dress – waiting until after pregnancy might end up being a lot less stressful!
And a few final planning tips from me…
Pre-Wedding Planning
If your baby is due pre-wedding then you need to consider how it is going to fit in with your planning timeline.
From dress fittings to tastings, and from baby classes to post natal nurse appointments – all is completely doable, you just have to be slightly more organised ahead of time!
Wedding Day Timeline
Also consider your timings on the day; provisions for when your baby will need fed and changed throughout the day, and who will do that, need to be thought of. It may make sense for a nanny to be present for the day, or to come and take them home or to your hotel room at a certain time – so you can relax. Photo time and including your new little one is also something you should consider (and discuss) with your photographer – your baby may not have the same understanding of group shots that your ‘maids do! So you may only want to do a few with your baby privately and more naturally, rather than posed after the ceremony.
Wedding, Location, and Budget
You will also have to consider if your budget will need adjusting, and if the wedding you were planning pre-pregnancy is still suitable or viable. An adults-only wedding in a far flung tropical country may no longer feel suitable…! Or affordable!
Post Wedding Baby
If you’re due after your wedding and already have a lot of plans in place, you may decide to stick with them. Your dress might need some adjustment as we’ve discussed, and your hen party in Palma might need to be re-arranged, but otherwise everything else should still fit your plan, but you may just want to allow a bit more flexible time in your running order on the day.
Finally…
And finally, remember why you are getting married! Nothing is worth stressing out over, especially if you are expecting.
If you need a Power Hour or a few hours planning time just to help pull things together, chase up your suppliers, or do a video recorded venue visit; you name it, just drop me a line!
Happy planning, and massive congrats if you have a little one on the way too!
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