The last month or so has felt like some kind of weird parallel universe hasn’t it? [Insert twilight zone music here] Amongst the many strange things covid-19 has brought us, the postponement of so many weddings has been one of the most heartbreaking. Yes, there are bigger problems out there, but planning your wedding has more than likely been a long, emotional, and sometimes difficult journey, so it’s okay to feel sad that this is happening to you. I’m giving you permission to take a couple days to grieve your loss, drink a lil’ wine, and let the tears flow.
After that though, I think it’s time to pick yourself up, put on your sassiest big-girl pants, and show the world how strong you are! This is an incredibly stressful and confusing time for couples, but we’re here to help! Here are five simple steps you can take to prepare, and allow you to postpone quickly and painlessly, should it become necessary.
1. First Things First… Create a Plan B
One of the trickiest things about postponing is finding a new date where everyone involved is available. It may not always be possible but I’m going to share with you how you can give yourself the best chance of doing it.
* Get some cute note paper, or sit down in front of a fresh Word doc and list every vendor you have booked down the left hand side, starting with your Venue and Photographer up top.
* Then decide what wedding date you would like to set as your potential Plan B. I would suggest having a date in mind, but being flexible. For example, you might say ‘any Friday, Saturday, or Sunday in May 2021’, or ‘as close as possible to our original date, in the following year’. This narrows down the options for your vendors, but still allows some wiggle room and the possibility of several new dates to choose from.
* Then go ahead and contact each and every vendor on your dream team to inquire with them about which dates they still have available within the range you’ve decided upon, being very clear that it is simply a Plan B you’d like to keep in your back pocket. As you receive responses, keep your list updated, and soon you’ll start to see a pattern emerge of what your most optimal dates will be.
* The goal of this strategy is to help you to make a swift decision on which date you could postpone to, all while keeping your vendor team intact as much as possible. Ask your vendors to pencil this new date in as your Plan B and now you’ll have given yourself some breathing space to be able to wait til around three months out from your original date before you have to make a final decision.
2. Take Note of Postponement Clauses
While you’re contacting your vendors to decide on a postponement date, also ask them how this affects your contract with them. The idea here is to allow you to have all the necessary information to help you make your decision, such as postponement fees, payment schedules, and rules to abide by (ie, must postpone within 365 days from the original date), etc.
3. Make Full Use of your Wedding Website
To keep your guests in the loop and prevent being inundated with emails, texts, and phone calls that increase your stress level, update your wedding website to include the following wording on the cover page:
‘In light of Covid-19/Coronavirus, please continue checking this website regularly for updates. We sincerely hope to have our wedding with our family and friends as planned, and at this time, we are cautiously optimistic and planning to proceed as scheduled on [your wedding date]. With that said, we will keep you updated on our plans should we need to consider postponement to a later date.’
If postponement is ultimately required, update the wedding website dates, times, and accommodations information as soon as possible to ensure guests are aware of the changes. You may also want to send a ‘change the date’ notice to them whether it’s via post or email. Nutmeg Creative has some free digital downloads available for this purpose here.
Finally, consider updating the wedding website to include information about maintaining good health conditions at the celebration with verbiage such as:
‘We kindly request that if you have recently travelled to high risk areas, have knowingly been exposed to the virus within 21 days of the wedding, or are experiencing symptoms, that you refrain from attending the celebration. For our guests who are over 60 years old and those with underlying health conditions, we ask that you take extra precaution and carefully consider attendance.’
If you don’t have a wedding website, they are super-easy to set-up and I’ve got another post right here to show you how to do it :)
4. Update your Records
If you do decide to postpone, don’t forget to ask your vendors for an updated copy of your invoice showing the new date, the venue location (if it’s changed), and up-to-date payment schedule. This will provide you with a written record of the changes that have been made, and will go a long way towards calming any anxiety you might have and answering the obvious questions right away.
5. Get Creative
As one of my bride’s said to me when we recently arranged her postponement - ‘This is like a little do-over. We have extra time to spend on details that got away from us, and the opportunity to save more money for a few special extras.’ I was so proud of her for quickly being able to see the bright side!
If your wedding season or venue changes, you might like to make updates to your design. For example, if the season is changing from spring to winter and your colour palette includes whites, soft pinks, and green, you can easily tweak it to winter white, pinks, and greens that are deeper in tone for a winter celebration. Consider adding winter foliage into floral arrangements, velvet into table linens, etc. to keep your color palette intact while bridging the gap between the seasons. Your wedding will be stunning no matter when it happens!
I know it’s devastating to have your plans pulled out from under you at the last minute, and I sincerely hope it doesn’t happen to you. But I do encourage to take positive action and put the above steps in place, just in case. You might never need your Plan B, but you’ll appreciate having done this so much if you do.
If you feel it’s all a bit more than you want to handle, I’d be happy to come on-board your team and take care of your Wedding Management for you. Click here for more info on how we can take care of you.
Either way - You’re amazing, and you’ve got this! Emma xo
