Have an open discussion with your wedding planner if you have one.
Your wedding planner has their finger on the pulse of the wedding industry, and they are talking to most of your wedding professionals on a regular basis. Your planner can help you determine what would be the best amount of time between your current wedding date and your future one. If you decide to move forward with your current wedding date, your planner will let you know if they feel comfortable working your event due to their personal health concerns. If you don’t have a wedding planner, consider reaching out to one. They are likely to offer packages that will assist you in this situation.
Read your contracts with the venue and other wedding pros.
If you hired your planner for more than Wedding Management, they will read all of your contracts with the hired wedding pros as well as your venue. They can help you determine what your vendors cancelation and postponement policies are and what fees may apply. If you only hired your planner for Wedding Management (day of coordination), don’t hesitate to reach out to them and see if they are willing to add this service on. Your wedding planner will then tell you their findings and give you advice on how to move forward.
Be flexible.
Knowing that you will have to postpone your wedding day is difficult to say the least. Now that we are in this situation which is out of anyone’s control, it is important to remember that your venue and wedding pros likely already have weddings booked on Saturdays for the foreseeable future. This means that you will need to be flexible and open when determining your future wedding date. Fridays and Sundays may be your best bet. You may even want to consider another weekday. In the beginning, you can try for Saturdays, but think about Fridays & Sundays as a backup plan. Mondays through Thursdays can be considered your last resort options.
Communicate with your venue.
You and your planner will need to ask your venue which dates they have available in the future (6 to 12 months from now). Compare this with the dates your hired wedding pros give you. communicate with your wedding pros You and your planner will need to reach out to all of the hired wedding pros to see which dates they have available in the future (6 to 12 months from now). Compare this with the dates your venue gives you. Your planner will have tools to help eliminate the stress of this process!
Select a new date.
Select a new date that works for everyone as soon as possible. This will ensure that you will incur the least amount of changes to your dream team. Make this decision sooner rather than later.
Receive contract addendums from your venue and wedding pros.
Now that you have selected a new date with all or most of your wedding pros, it is time to get it in writing. Have them all send you an addendum to their contracts for your signature, and make sure that you get a copy of these addendums with their signatures as well. select new wedding pros (if applicable) Hopefully, by being flexible, you are able to salvage most or all of your original wedding pros. However, if a few of them were unable to accommodate your new wedding day, you and your planner can work together in finding the right replacements for your needs.
Inform your guests of the new date.
If you have sent out your invitations already, now is the time to let your guests know about your new plans with the new date. You can put this information on your wedding website and simply send out a link to your guests asking them to read the updates there. Many local stationery vendors are offering change of date templates. Your planner can help point you in the right direction. If you have not yet sent out your original invitations, then you can simply continue with the planning process as usual. If you are unsure of how to move forward based on your situation, consult your wedding planner.
Continue your planning.
Now that the hard part is over, you can continue with your plans and trust in the advice of your planner. They want only the best for you and your event. Good luck and stay safe!
Again, if you do not have a planner that you are working with, reach out to a local one! We understand the frustration and stress this is causing and are happy to help! We have many systems already in place for postponements and can help get things taken care of quickly and effectively, saving you time and Advil!
Checklist information provided by The Bridal Society
