If you have a wedding in the near future, the Coronavirus is most definitely on your mind. Instead of putting final details together, you’re worrying about whether or not you’ll need to postpone your wedding. Our hearts are with all the brides and grooms who are finding themselves in this difficult and unprecedented situation. We promise that in the end, love will prevail.
Postponing your wedding is going to be stressful, but the good news is you are not alone. Thousands of couples have found themselves in the same situation and wedding vendors everywhere are scrambling to rethink and reschedule.
There are 7 steps to take if you think that Covid-19 might put your wedding date as risk.
- Review Your Contracts
When you booked your wedding venue, photographer, florist and even your makeup artist, it’s likely you signed a contract and put down a deposit. Now is the time to review each of them very carefully and call every vendor to discuss how they are reacting to this unforeseen pandemic. Keep in mind that most wedding vendors are small businesses and the affect the coronavirus is having on their business could be catastrophic. More often than not, they’ll be eager to work with you to reschedule for a future date.
- Have a Heart to Heart
Sit down with your fiancé and decide what your game plan is if faced with a postponement. Do you want to go ahead with micro-ceremony witnessed only by your closest family members? Do you want officially tie the knot, but still have your wedding ceremony and reception, as planned, on a future day? Or do you want to postpone your entire wedding and stay blissfully engaged for a few more months?
- Review Your Calendar
Even if your wedding is two, three or four months away, open your calendar and make a list of alternative dates that will work for the two of you. Also remember to ask your venue what month they are beginning to take re-bookings.
- Talk to Your Loved Ones
The reason for your postponement is because you want to celebrate with all those you love most, so make sure to check on their availability before officially setting a new date. Key players include your parents, siblings, wedding party, close relatives and officiant. Don’t be afraid to remind everyone that their flexibility is very much appreciated during this stressful time.
- Set a New Date (Gulp)
Once you have a date (or better yet, a handful of dates) that you’d like to target, call your venue as well as any vendors that you just can’t see yourself getting married without. Let them know what dates you’re eyeing. This is where you’ll be practicing a bit of flexibility. If your dream date is already booked, consider moving your wedding back a day, or even up a day. Ask about alternative locations as well. As weddings begin to stack on top of one another, venues will be getting creative and some will even create new spaces so they can host more than one wedding at once.
- Communicate to Your Guests
Once your new date is set, send an informal message to your wedding guests letting them know that you’ve postponed your wedding to a new date. This can be done through email, a phone call or even a text. Make sure they know new wedding invitations will be mailed out to avoid being bombarded with questions.
- Make it Official (Again!)
If your wedding is more than 3 months away, send a new Save the Date card, or one of the brand-new affordable Change the Date cards from our partner, Ann’s Bridal Bargains (they are so cute!). Your wedding guests will be excited to have something fun to look forward to! If your new date is less than 3 months away, create a new wedding invitation suite, complete with fresh respond cards and drop your new suites in the mail.
Best wishes and good luck to every couple who is facing this hurdle. We are here to help you get your wedding day back on track and promise it’ll be worth the heartache.
xo – the team at Invitations by Dawn
