As is the case with most things in 2020—travel plans, up-close-and-personal relationships, our waistlines—the wedding industry has taken a hit.
With interstate travel and oversize gatherings deemed largely unsafe due to the still-raging coronavirus pandemic, most prospective brides and grooms realized they were too wedded to their original visions to attempt a pared-down version of their nuptials. And suddenly the race was on to lock in a suitable 2021 date.
Some found the thin silver lining, like former Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher, who recently told The Knot that tacking an extra 11 months onto her already four-year engagement with Jordan Rodgers meant they had time to fine-tune their plans for a destination wedding outside Santa Barbara, Calif.
"Before we made the decision to postpone, there were a few little things that we were still trying to figure out," she explained of the vineyard affair. "We want it to be like this sort of weekend celebration—different activities our guests could do leading up to the actual day of the wedding. We hadn't pinpointed exactly what we wanted that to look like."
But mostly, like everything else COVID-related, having to delay what was likely to be one of the best days of their lives was a huge bummer for Hollywood's betrothed set.
Among those affected was Sarah Hyland, who was set to wed Fletcher's onetime suitor Wells Adams this past August.
"We were supposed to get married today. Instead... we took pictures and drank wine," the Modern Family alum wrote of their impromptu all-white vineyard photo shoot, while her future spouse reasoned that "I still got to grab a butt. So, ya know, still pretttty cool."
So at least they're keeping a healthy dose of perspective and humor about things.
As for us, we've had scant few opportunities to engage in our favorite type of voyeurism: Dissecting every last decision future spouses agonize over en route to the altar, from the lust-worthy designer gowns to the Instagram-worthy Casa de Perrin tablescapes.
But a dream deferred is not a dream denied and we're pretty sure what legendary poet Langston Hughes was going on about was that all of this matrimonial reshuffling means we're set for a whole slate of star-studded nuptials starting next spring. And with Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani and all of our fave Bachelor Nation pairs deep in planning mode, we're over here fantasizing about floral walls, bistro lighting and seemingly endless trains.
Here are just a few of the celeb vows we'd love to score an invite to...
Although the Divergent actress has yet to publicly comment on her engagement to the Green Bay Packers quarterback, Rodgers wasted no time revealing the news during his acceptance speech at the NFL Honors on Feb. 6.
The couple is keeping matters private and despite a long-distance relationship and busy careers, they were able to spend Valentine's Day weekend together in Montreal, Canada.
Even with the pandemic keeping this couple apart, the Olympic figure skater had a fairytale-like story to share with his followers on social media. "JP and I didn't get to see each other for almost all of 2020 because of the pandemic," he wrote in his engagement announcement. "When there was finally a chance for me to go and see him in Finland, I jumped at it. I was there for a little over two months." Rippon added that in-between jokes, zoom meetings and shoveling snow they found the perfect opportunity to say "yes."
The star couple announced their engagement two years after dating and going public with their relationship at Coachella in April 2019.
The Altered Carbon actor jokingly shared the news with an Instagram post captioned "She said no. Jus kiddin..." on Jan. 18.
The Victoria's Secret model told The Daily Mail that she knew Joel was the one after their trip to Indonesia. "On our spontaneous trip to Bali together after only three dates, he got up at 1AM to go on a night/early hike with me," she shared. "I was like, 'Ok he's my guy.'"
The supermodel wasn't expecting the surprise when her NBA boo popped the question on her birthday in late January.
Bock announced the news in an Instagram post on Jan. 31. saying "Well, this was the best birthday surprise I could have ever imagined. I couldn't be happier to have been asked to be a Love by my love. Heart bursting all day & night."
His first wedding to fellow country music sensation Miranda Lambert was a Texan dream right down to the cowboy boots, red pickup truck and the veal dinner they hunted for themselves. Stefani's 2002 London affair to fellow alt-rocker Gavin Rossdale made the fashion-forward set squeal thanks to her hot pink dip-dyed John Galliano for Christian Dior gown. So now that our favorite odd couple is finally engaged after five years of duets, adorable 'grams and too many marriage rumors to count, we'll be happy anywhere or anyhow they choose to wed.
For months, the Vanderpump Rules star tried to make 2020 vows to her producer fiancé happen, throwing around plans to transform their extravagant, 300-person California affair into whatever state regulations might allow. "We've already discussed moving it outdoors to anticipate what the guidelines are going to be like," Emmett told Us Weekly of trying to make it down the aisle in September. "It's about becoming one, it's not about all the other stuff."
But now that they're set to become three—Kent expecting what will be Emmett's third daughter in April—they're content with their new July 2021 date. "Lala was very disappointed with having to postpone her wedding this year," a source told E! News, "but thinks it was meant to be for her to get pregnant instead."
Today's beloved everywoman admitted this summer that it was a bit of a beach having to postpone her November destination wedding set in what she called their "favorite place on earth." Though the mother of two needn't look far to find her (Haley) Joy and Hope (Catherine)—with she and the financier looking to add a third to their brood—she is eager to marry the "guy that gives me butterflies." As she put it on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, "I know we should say, 'Who cares, it doesn't matter' but we waited a long time so I sure hope we get to have it."
Which, they will, but the where of it all is very much in the air. "I'm the happiest when it's warm and my toes are in the sand," Hoda shared during an October stop on Daily Pop. "So, we may just wait until next summer and do it here on the East Coast, or if things get better, which we hope and pray they will, then maybe we'll strike out and go to some warm, tropical place."
The early coronavirus spread through Asia doomed the pair's summer vows set for Japan, but something more magical blossomed instead, with Perry giving birth to daughter Daisy in August. "We cannot plan anymore in 2020, because those plans are always canceled," she quipped to Howard Stern in July of the constant life reshuffling quarantine demanded. Eventually they'll wed, she continued, saying, "That will come in the future, but for now, we want to deliver a healthy child."
And however the nuptials shake out, the self-described "bridechilla" is sure to maintain her smile. "Orlando and I are united with our approach," she noted to Stellar Magazine in February. "It's not about the party it's about the coming together of people who will hold us accountable when things get really hard. Those are just the facts when you're with someone who challenges you to be your best self."
Four-time WNBA champ Bird is "more private," her bride-to-be Rapinoe told InStyle in 2019. The Olympic gold medal-winning soccer sensation, herself, is "kind of wild, and people are f--king here for it." Together, they're a trophy-collecting, social justice-initiating, formidable power couple who make us want to cheer as loud as Bird did for each of Rapinoe's 2019 World Cup goals. And now that Rapinoe has dropped to one knee in a "spontaneous, but planned all at the same time" proposal, we'll be holding our breath until we get to see what the Gucci- and Celine-loving star of the pitch will select to wear on their big day.
No stranger to special rings, the 2020 Super Bowl MVP proposed to his high school sweetheart this September after eight years together. Totally surprised, Brittany took to Instagram to share her confidence in the Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback saying, "It's always us, it's always you and me." Brittany's ring has been officially added to the family's growing collection. And while the brood itself is set to expand in 2021, it seems they'll kick off planning soon, with the trainer calling her pregnancy just "a small detour to the wedding."
On Sept. 13, the Bachelorette alum proposed to his sweetheart of two years. By pretending to be sick on their Sunday boat ride, King easily attracted the attention of his doting queen. Of course, when Ferris ran over to help, her new fiancé was on one knee. Thankfully the couple captured it all to share on King's Instagram which makes us excited for the type of Bachelor Nation content that could be coming from the wedding itself.
It was no little thing when the One Direction alum proposed to his model girlfriend this August. "We're just really happy," the dad to 3-year-old Bear said on Good Morning America in September. "The last week, I've just had a birthday, my son has gone to school for the first time today, so it seems like a lot of firsts for me really actually, which is great." But what would be really great is a star-studded guest list for the upcoming affair. A 1D reunion, anyone?
The One Tree Hill star is officially engaged to the Royals actress after two years together. Keeping it casual, Lafferty explained the proposal on Instagram in just three words saying, "She said yeah." However, we'd be lying if we said we weren't hoping for an, um, royal affair.
The Victoria's Secret Angel is officially in heaven after her boyfriend of four years became her new fiancé. The Snapchat executive pulled out all the stops before he popped the question on Sept. 24, including a helicopter ride, Popeye's catering and a ring drop off from a drone! So dare we say the sky's the limit for their eventual nuptials?
Just seeing the snaps from the actress' outdoor engagement lunch in September brought us Glee, so we'll be among those devouring every last detail the newly engaged star is willing to divulge on she and Kevin McHale's Showmance podcast. And we won't stop believin' that we'll get a glimpse at McHale, Heather Morris and Becca Tobin done up in wedding refinery performing a rendition of a beloved classic on the big day.
With their June nuptials set for California's Sunstone Villa—the same spot Lauren Conrad selected for her dreamy 2014 vows—the Dallas-based hosts of CNBC's Cash Pad and Paramount Network's Fittest Couples were, at first, confident their dramatic four-year journey would end at the altar this summer. But as quarantine stretched from weeks to months, they debated the merits of a trimmed-down guest list or even the popular 2020 minimony followed by a delayed bash. Ultimately, though, Fletcher told The Knot, "We really wanted it to be one time, what we envision, so we're okay with holding out a little bit longer."
With a new May date set, "our vendors and our venue, they've been so amazing," she continued. "So we're able to really just take what we had and just move it to next year." According to Rodgers, the biggest challenge may be avoiding fashion indecision: "I have to take JoJo's Instagram away from her at times, because she needs to stop looking at wedding dress profiles!"
A star-studded engagement party was in the books and August nuptials set when the pandemic sent the Modern Family alum and Bachelor Nation fave into a holding pattern. "We have no plans as of right now," Hyland told Chris Harrison during The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons—Ever! in June. "All of my family is mostly on the East Coast, so for them to fly out... and just ages and of course with my health risks, we want to be as safe as possible."
But we have no doubt the union between the actress and the man she loves "to Pluto and back" will be out of this world even if they follow through on their City Hall whims. As Hyland put it in a birthday tribute to Wells, "2020 has not gone the way we thought it would but my love for you is at least one thing that will never change."
When announcing plans to push their November vows in the Sunshine state back a year, the engaged Bachelor in Paradise couple managed to maintain a decidedly rosy outlook. "Weirdly enough we're actually okay with it," Loch, who uprooted from her native Florida to be with the firefighter in Toronto, wrote on Instagram in July. "We realized it was time to take a step back and reevaluate our priorities. And as much as I was disappointed at first (mostly bc now we won't get married on Friday the 13th) it's been a great reminder of why we're getting married in the first place."
Besides, as she included in a note to her fellow 2020 brides, "Now you have more time to grow your hair out."
Though the singer and his "Beautiful Soul" Peterson locked in a venue and a spring 2021 date not long after his September 2019 proposal, tackling the rest has been a touch tricky. "It would be nice to be able to go do things, go to bakeries and go to restaurants and try foods," he told People of his love of eight years. "I'm sure she wants to try on a dress. At the moment, we're at a standstill because the whole world is shut down."
The Pitch Perfect and Pretty Little Liars stars announced their engagement in October 2019. It wasn't announced without a joke, of course, with DeVine writing, "Have fun planning the wedding. I'll be there for the cake tasting."
The Super Bowl headliner was more than ready to get on the floor with her husband-to-be at their Italian vows this summer, but even the multi-hyphenate can't control a global pandemic. "I'm a little heartbroken because we did have some great plans," she admitted on Today in May. "But I'm also like, 'You know what? God has a bigger plan.' And so we just have to wait and see. Maybe it's gonna be better. I have to believe that it will be."
Uh, E!'s People's Choice Icon putting together what will be her fourth wedding? We're betting on nothing short of spectacular. Though she might need to bench the retired baseball pro from planning meetings. After putting together a drive-by birthday bash for his daughter Ella this spring, "some people said maybe we have a drive-through wedding," he said on The Tonight Show. "It will be cheaper!"
After the third time proved not to be the charm for the Bachelor in Paradise success story, the store owner more or less gave up on trying to find a new slot for their Dallas vows, pushed back several times from the original May date. "I have postponed my wedding not once, not twice but three times and you know what? We even had to change a fourth date, but we didn't even send invitations out for that," she revealed on her What a Girl Wants podcast this August.
But it's not the wasted stamps or the delayed dress dreams that have her feeling weepy. "It's just been really crazy because we had this master grand plan that we were going to get married in May, that we were going to travel the world this summer and when fall hits, we were going to start a family," she explained. "Now that it's about to be fall, I'm just kind of like sad because I had this master plan that I was going to get pregnant right away and in 2021 we were going to have a baby but that's not the case."
Their year hasn't been without milestones though, the two moving into their new Texas pad, and they're excited to celebrate with all of Bachelor Nation come 2021. "We don't want to get married without every single person we want there," she told Brides. "And for now, it's not possible, so we are willing to wait!
This story was originally published on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020 at 12 a.m. PT.