“We are still getting married, but rescheduling.” How many of you can relate? More than we would like to count, if we are being honest.
We all look forward to big celebrations and planning for life within our industry, however in recent, we have been faced with a sudden an immediate halt to everything around us. Clients postponing, vendors shutting doors, our once go to person now not working and it seems to continue on that trend. After this, though, we need to continue to exist. We need to continue on with life and create those same celebrations that we all once enjoyed pre-March 9, 2020.
While the beginning of this blog sounds very familiar to everything else out there in the news and press, at BTS we want to make sure that if you are one of those going through the back and forth of compartmentalizing all of what is happening to your very own wedding day, it is important for us to help you in this process. That said, let’s get right to it and make sure you all know what the steps and procedures are that you need to do to make this a seamless process for everyone.
Reschedule First, Do Not Cancel!
First and foremost, talk to your partner about what you should be doing and take into consideration the health and well being of the two of you, your families and your guests. If any of this seems a little weird and uncertain, it may be best to come up with an alternative. Change your date, and postpone. You shouldn’t cancel. There is no need to do that. Your wedding day is still super important and it needs to be celebrated. Your friends and family members will definitely agree.
Contact Your Vendors
Inform your wedding planner if you have one. You may feel it necessary to do some things on your own, keep in mind that we are hired for coordination. That means coordination of all things related to the wedding; cancelling, postponing, etc. You are likely not the first one to be doing this so let us help you by making this a super simple and easy transition.
If you do not have a wedding planner, contact your venue to understand the policies and procedures for what is happening. Remember, we are in a national emergency (super scary couple of words to be saying out loud – we know) so everyone is understanding. Next is to consider a new date/dates. Keep in mind, LOTS of dates are changing right now so you want to make sure you reach out as soon as possible. Once you have established this, it is time to move on to your other vendors. If they are all available, great! If not, keep track of the conflicting vendors to see if there is anything that can be done to ensure you are able to keep them on the roster. Ask your wedding planner for tips on what to do if not everyone is able to make the switch.
Contracts
It is important to ask your vendors for revised contracts that reflect the new dates. This should be done so that there is documentation of all of the changes. Do not be worried. Be cautious in making sure that with all of the moving pieces going on within the event industry, you are protecting yourself. Another contract to consider updating is your event insurance if you have this.
Communicate To Your Guests
After all is settled and you have landed on a new date, it is time to inform your guests. Do not forget about them. Though there is a lot going on, they are still wondering about your wedding. Send out a postponement announcement via email/text/paperless post as soon as you know your new date so guests know exactly what is going on and can plan accordingly. This is similar to a save the date. Short and to the point. It allows guests the chance to understand what is going, make travel adjustments and inform the necessary accommodation people of the changes.
Don’t forget, keep your wedding website up to date and as current as possible. You may need to resubscribe to the server that you have been using so that it does not expire. Sometimes there is a timestamp on how long the sites stay active for.
After this, you will want to plan to send out another invitation closer to the wedding for rsvp’s. Keep this simple and to the point – probably just one card including the new date and food options available for selection. You need these rsvp’s to be as current as the first round of them.
Personal Adjustments
You are likely in the home stretch of everything, so appointments are made and booked. Don’t forget about them. Things such as dress fittings, facials, manicures/pedicures, tans and more have to be rescheduled. Make sure to pick up your dress from your seamstress so that it is in your possession and no one else’s. The honeymoon is likely a standstill as well so make any necessary adjustments to these travel plans as well.
Breathe
We know, this was a lot and unfortunately, not fun at all. Wedding planning is supposed to always be fun though, right? Well, it will be again. Spin it whichever way you want as long as you find the silver lining. Find the fun in the process and the uniqueness of the situation. At the end of the day, you were planning this day as a celebration of two lives coming together as one – we need to make sure that happens still. We also need to make sure that the celebration continues with the people you care most about.
