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The Coronavirus has forced many couples to postpone their wedding, due to shelter in place orders and venues being required to shut their doors temporarily. If you have found yourself in this position, and are planning to reschedule your wedding to a later date, here are some wedding planning tips to make the process easier.
In most cases the original decision to postpone your wedding came from your wedding venue. If your wedding date has already passed you’ve likely already spoken to your wedding venders, but in the off chance you haven’t yet because your wedding date is still a ways off, now is the ideal time to do so.
Ask your vendors about their policy for scheduling a new wedding date and what their future availability is. Some couples are choosing to go ahead and pick a new wedding date in 2021, while other couples are choosing to wait for restrictions to lift.
If you live in an area where weddings are now being allowed this is an ideal time to start inquiring as to booking a new wedding date. Start with ensuring your venue is available and then reach out to your other vendors starting with your photographer and videographer. If you’re looking to book a close date, you may find it difficult to ensure all of your vendors are available, so if you don’t want to lose any of them you may need to consider booking a further away date.
Even if your guests may assume your wedding will be rescheduled, you should communicate to them that it is officially rescheduled and provide updates as you have new information. If you have a wedding website this is an ideal place to post updates. You can also reach out to guests directly via phone, text or email. Once you have rescheduled your wedding date you should consider sending out a new save-the-date with your new wedding date and updated information in the event anything has changed.
If you would rather not wait to get married, you can consider still having a mini-ceremony on your original wedding date. Invite your parents and siblings to witness the event, or even consider having a virtual wedding ceremony. Later when weddings are permissible you can renew your vows in front of your guests and celebrate with everyone.
Another option you can choose instead of having a ceremony on your original wedding date is celebrating the date instead. Order a cake and put up some decorations and have a mini-celebration on your chosen date. This way you can still acknowledge your planned wedding date and still have your big celebration with your family and friends later.
It’s important to explore all of the possibilities surrounding your wedding and create a backup plan for your choice just as you would have for your original wedding day. As you move forward in making new plans consider all of your options which can include a city hall wedding, eloping, virtual ceremony, and micro-wedding.
Another important thing to consider as you reschedule your wedding is your honeymoon. If you haven’t already contacted your travel agent or booking agent now is the time to do so. Some agencies are simply refunding the costs of travel, while others are allowing travelers to postpone their dates to a time when travel restrictions are lifted.
Once you have chosen your new date, it’s time to arrange new honeymoon plans. If you didn’t already, you might want to consider purchasing travel insurance in the event there is a second wave of the virus and travel restrictions are put in place again.
Most likely hotels will be accommodating regarding wedding hotel blocks and will adjust them to the dates of your new wedding. In the event your new wedding date is not available for your hotel you should choose a new one and send out an update to any guests who were planning to stay in a hotel for your wedding.
If you plan to order anything that is customized with your wedding date you should put a hold on those orders being processed until you have a new wedding date. If your wedding date was close and you already had these items made, you should contact your vendor to see if there is a way to update the wedding date or order replacement items.
If your dress was still in the process of being altered, it’s recommended to postpone further alterations until you have a new wedding date. Since weight can fluctuate easily, it’s best to finalize your alterations as close to your wedding as possible.
The most important thing to keep in mind when rescheduling your wedding date is to be flexible. It’s possible that some of your vendors may not be available, or that you might need to compromise on certain things like the size of your wedding. Remaining flexible will help keep your stress levels down and make the process more enjoyable for you and your future spouse.
