Absolutely no one wants to have to postpone their wedding for any reason, let alone for something as serious as the global pandemic Covid-19, but for many couples this is a reality. As we are just coming into what is considered wedding season we are also facing a health crisis that is effecting every section of our lives including wedding days.
If you are one of the couples who are now facing the heart wrenching decision to postpone your wedding day we feel for you. We know the amount of planning, care and excitement that goes into planning your dream wedding day so the idea and reality of having to postpone it, is heartbreaking. As of now (March 16th, 2020), the CDC has outlined in a guide that any group event over 50 people should be postpone for the next 8 weeks (read the full statement here).
Today we thought the best thing we can do to help you manage this stressful time is to put together a list of things you can do now and act on if you are one of those couple who need to move and postpone your wedding day.
1. Work Quickly
The faster you work the better the results will be. The moment you know you need to postpone your wedding day you need to work quickly to contact your vendors, venue, and guests so everyone is informed. With so many couples in the same boat right now the faster you work the better chance you have of getting a new date at your venue.
2. Contact Your Venue And Vendors
Your venue should be the FIRST call you make after you and your partner decide on postponing. The venue should be the first call since they will be the ones sharing what open future dates they have available. You might have to consider a Friday night wedding or a Sunday wedding but that is better then not being able to work with your venue at all. Make sure you then contact ALL of your vendors to let them know what your current plan is even if you don’t have a new date but to inform them that you need to postpone your event.
3. Don’t Work Alone
No one can plan a wedding alone and no one can postpone one alone either. Of course your partner will be helping but ask for help from your family and wedding party if needed. Assign tasks to others who can help such as calling older guests on the phone who might not get the news via email or social, researching new venues if needed, calling your bridal dress company to check on shipping dates etc.
4. Inform Your Guests
Of course you need to let everyone know you was on your guestlist that the wedding will be postponed. The sooner you can inform everyone the better since many guests will need to change their travel plans and flight reservations. You should NOT want until you have a new date to inform your guests you should let them know the wedding is postponed and you will contact them again when you have a new date. How should you contact your guestlist, the answer is as many ways as possible. Don’t be fooled that by sending out one email everyone will get the news. You should inform guests in several different methods so that you can be sure they have all received the updated information. Send an email blast followed by a text, share it on your social outlets and don’t forget you might even need to call older guests who are not so tech savvy.
5. Work With Your Planner Or Hire One Now
If you had already hired a planner now is the time to ask them for as much help as they can give you. This is not your typical wedding planning situation so having your planner work with the vendors will take some stress off your plate. If you DID NOT hire a wedding planning now is the time to do so. Bringing in a wedding planner even if it is late in your planning process can help move things off your “to do” list and since they are pros they have dealt with all sorts of situations before and can bring some expertise to the process.
6. Check About An Act Of God Clause
Many contracts have what is considered an “act of God” clause which means events like fire, floods, hurricanes, extreme snow and more will result in no loss of deposits and the vendor will work to find another date. Since Covid-19 is a brand new problem to the wedding world does this clause apply… we not really sure but it might be worth looking into or asking a lawyer for help if your venue wants to not refund your deposit.
7. Move Your Honeymoon Date
Sometimes brides are SO focus on the wedding day they forget about the travel plans they had booked for their honeymoon. Make sure you consider moving your honeymoon date ASAP.
8. Have An Open Mind
Having an open mind will make this unique situation a little easier… you might need to consider a completely new location, season or event type but you are not alone so by doing some research before you cross it off the list you find its not as bad as you thought. Think about moving your wedding to a Friday night event or a Sunday wedding to keep your venue and vendors but these can be perfectly good days to host your wedding! Keeping an open mind will allow you to make good choices and not act solely on emotions.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company.
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