First up, if you’re reading this, and you’re pregnant – congratulations – what an exciting time! Of course, finding out you’re pregnant while planning your wedding can be overwhelming. Confetti and table plans probably start to seem frivolous when you’ve buggies and baby grows on the horizon.
But that doesn’t mean you have to ditch your plans for your dream day if it’s important to you. So here we’ve rounded up your options as a pregnant bride with tips on how to hit pause, or how to press on with your plans, whatever you decide.
Pregant While Planning Your Wedding
New and Different Priorities
Being a pregnant bride may mean your financial circumstances and priorities may have changed, but it also might mean they haven’t. There’s no hard and fast guide to what to do, it’s all about working out what’s right for you, and your family.
For some couples, finding out your pregnant while planning your wedding means money needs to be allotted elsewhere and a wedding is no longer realistic. For others, the idea of a big celebration with friends and family is amped up even more with a new addition. And for another couple, the legalities of being married might take on a new significance, and getting to the registry office is a priority, while the big party can wait.
If it’s your first pregnancy, it’ll be hard to know what to expect down the line. If it’s your second or third, you may have a better idea of how you’ll feel, but every pregnancy is different. One bride will be fine dashing around and planning a wedding at eight months, for another bride, that’s just not feasible, so cut yourself some slack and don’t compare yourself to others!
The Timing
Obviously what you do when you find out you’re pregnant during your wedding planning, depends heavily on when you’re due and when you’re getting married.
If you’re due around the time of your wedding
It’s probably wise to move your date, particularly if you’re planning anything more than a simple ceremony. You can get our guide to cancelling or postponing your wedding here.
If you’re due before your wedding
You need to consider if your timeline will still work post-baby, if your budget will need adjusting, and if the wedding you were planning pre-pregnancy is still what you have in mind (an adults-only destination wedding for example, may no longer feel suitable). Also consider how cute it will be to have a new flower girl or page boy in the mix!
If you’re due after your wedding
If you have a lot of plans already in place, you may decide to stick with them. Your dress might need some adjustment (see below) and your hen party in Amsterdam might not be quite the rager you’d anticipated, but otherwise everything else should still fit your plan. Again this one comes down to the timeline and the kind of wedding; at seven months pregnant will you still want to bust a move to the 80s tribute band at two in the morning, or will you be wishing you’d had a restaurant wedding that wrapped up at midnight (with a nap in the middle!)?
Simplifying Wedding Plans
If you do decide to change or simplify your plans – for whatever reason – it’s important to move quickly on any bookings you’ve already made. Wedding suppliers tend to be as flexible as they can once you’re upfront and honest, you’ll get our full guide to changing your wedding here.
If you decide to opt for a simple civil wedding, you’ll still need three months notice to register for your marriage license, even for a registry office wedding.
If you want to downsize your wedding from a more traditional affair, you can opt for a wedding after-party for lots of guests or a restaurant wedding for something more intimate or chilled out. If you do need to cut back on numbers, and are worried about guests’ reactions, don’t be. Everyone will be so excited for your news, they’ll totally understand if you need to change up the plans. We even have a post on how to downsize your wedding without offending here.
Changes in the Dress
Again, whether or not you need to alter your wedding dress or buy a maternity-specific dress will depend on how far along you’ll be on your wedding day.
If you haven’t shopped yet, there are some gorgeous options for maternity wedding dresses or you could get something made to just for you by a bespoke designer.
If you’ve already bought your dress, talk to your bridal boutique. They’ll be really familiar with their stock and know if a dress can be altered to fit a bump or potentially swapped if it hasn’t been made yet. A good alternations professional will be able to work with you to let out or reconstruct your dress if it’s at all possible and if not, you can always sell the dress you have, and buy something bump-worthy and gorgeous!
Changes to the Honeymoon
Another big wedding detail that might need changing up if you’re pregnant is your honeymoon destination. Again, this is down to your personal choice, and finances and timing will come into play.
The Zika virus is still a major concern for couples travelling to certain destinations – see the Department of Foreign Affairs website for the latest information. Talk to your doctor about your travel plans, and discuss any concerns you have about flying, vaccinations or hazards in your chosen destination. Booking through an indeopendent agent like The Travel Counsellors is a great idea as they can help you choose fabulous destinations with minimal risk and can help you adjust your plans as you need to.
Lots of couples opt for a mini-moon close to home, and you can always do the big trip down the line or make it a family vacation or babymoon at a time that suits.
If you need to change up your plans, consult your travel insurance and talk to your agent/airline/ hotel, chances are, like wedding vendors, they’ll be as accommodating as they can be.
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