Wedding In July 2020: Lauren And Daniel Share Their Gift List Experience

Lauren and Daniel met four and half years ago, and celebrated their engagement in August 2019 on old Harry Rock in Dorset. With wedding plans full steam ahead soon after their engagement, they planned a 200 person wedding to go ahead July 4th 2020. Of course, that couldn’t happen but they were still very much keen to have an intimate, COVID secure celebration with their wedding party. They were one of the first couples to get married in the UK after the national lockdown.

We had the opportunity to ask Lauren and Daniel a few questions about their gift list experience, despite having to change their original wedding plans, along with their top tip for other planning brides and grooms to be. Let them inspire you.

The plan was to have a church wedding, followed by a barn wedding reception. We were really excited about the wedding breakfast, as our caterer was a charity called "Surplus to Supper" that uses surplus food from supermarkets that would otherwise become landfill. We then had a band booked and we were going to celebrate with around 200 people in the evening.

In early April, we realised this would not be a possibility. All of our vendors were brilliant and allowed us just to move to a later date, 9th April 2021. We still wanted to get married on the 4th July, but it went down to the wire as to whether this would happen. On Tuesday 23rd June, it was announced weddings could commence from 4th July with up to 30 people. We were thrilled and decided to have a  small ceremony with just immediate family and the bridal party present. It was nothing like the day we had originally planned, with social distancing and a smaller number of guests, but that was the whole idea. We didn't want to spend the day comparing what "might have been". We had photos done in the church car park and then drove down to the beach, as a couple, with our amazing photographer, Nicki Feltham.

How Have You Found The Wedding Shop Experience Despite Having To Change Your Plans?

The Wedding Shop were really understanding and allowed us to split our 3 deliveries, so we could have 1 delivery of the presents we received from our small ceremony and then use the other 2 next year after the "big day".

Have Your Family And Friends Taken Well To Your Gift List? Are They Happy That You Had One In Place?

All of our friends and family have found having the list really useful. It's been great that you can set bigger gifts for people just to pledge funds toward, meaning that groups of friends can pitch in for a specific gift.

How Did You Inform Your Family And Friends About Your Gift List? Those Who Attended The Ceremony And Those Who Didn’t.

To save paper, we did a website as our wedding invitations and RSVPs, so we had a page with the link to the gift list on there, so it was easily accessible for all.

Have You Seen That Friends And Family That Didn’t Attend Your Intimate Ceremony Used Your Gift List?

Yes, we had extended family and close friends decide to send us our gifts now. We had no expectations of this, but it was great that they were able to access it and know that we had the option of splitting up the deliveries, so we could get these gifts sooner rather than later.

Do You Have Any Top Tips For Couples Planning A Wedding Now?

Just to remember, the most important thing is that you're getting married. Everyone understands that they might not be able to be there and they will just want you to be content and happy.

What Is Your Favourite Wedding Gift So Far?

We love our new KitchenAid stand mixer. I christened it on the same day we had it delivered and made a pineapple upside-down cake.

Why Did You Have A Wedding Gift List?

We were combining two households of stuff anyway, so we didn't need a lot of the classic household presents; however, we knew people would want to buy us physical presents. So, we decided to make a list of dream things for the house that people could buy/contribute to, if they were keen to get us a gift.

Would You Recommend The Wedding Shop And Why?

Yes, they have always been really strong with communication. A few gifts have been delayed due to the circumstance, but the team have been really proactive in making us aware and accommodating accordingly.

The beauty of planning your wedding gift list during times of uncertainty is that you can rest in the fact that The Wedding Shop is completely flexible and you have a full financial guarantee. Making building your wedding list the fun and easy part of wedding planning. Your wedding might be smaller than you thought but it can be just so perfectly formed. At The Wedding Shop, we've curated our favourite must-have pieces from across our brand offering for you to be inspired by and build your perfectly formed wedding list, too.