Planning a Wedding During COVID-19 Pandemic
Under the new nationwide lockdown, weddings have been left in limbo.
If you’re trying to plan your wedding during COVID-19, we fully appreciate how anxious and worried you may feel. The uncertainty is ongoing, and you may be still routing for your original date in 2021 or perhaps have a postponed wedding?Either way, wedding planning in these difficult circumstances can be very overwhelming.
Working with our own private clients as well as postponing and supporting in excess of 70 couples with our venue consultancy hat on, we know all to well the uncertainty and stress it has caused each and everyone of you through this unprecedented situation.
Libby and I have and continue to plan weddings during COVID-19 and no matter what stage of the process you’ve reached so far, we want to share with you our thoughts and guidance to support you in these tricky times.
We have all done it at some point since March but please, try not to bury your head in the sand! Whilst we fully understand you want to take some time out and step away from wedding planning, we also want to ensure you acknowledge that this situation is here for a longer duration than any of us every imagined. We need to take positive steps forward and find solutions and in some cases, compromises need to be made.
Photo Credit -Fresh Shoot Studios
Do i just cancel my wedding?
In a nutshell, we would strongly suggest you do not cancel your wedding. With most couples, you have paid large deposits to many wedding suppliers or perhaps even paid balances in full if you were due to get married in 2020 so you are at risk of losing it all if you decide to cancel your wedding. The key is to speak to each and every supplier to see where the land lies and what solutions you can collectively work with.
I may rock the boat here a little but I really think the subject of wedding suppliers needs to be spoken about in an open and honest way. Like myself and Libby, this is our full time job as with all the other suppliers we personally work with. So many in our industry (and others I must add!) have slipped through the net with grants and government support and essentially lost in excess of a years worth of business and income. Therefore it just isn’t financially viable for wedding suppliers to be offering full refunds to couples who decide to cancel their wedding. It’s such a tough decision for all parties, we get it but I just wanted to be mindful of all these businesses that are working so hard to support couples with postponements and compromises such as adapting requirements to work with smaller wedding numbers.
So please, ensure you have explored all solutions and if possible speak with the suppliers as well as email as nothing beats a good, open and honest chat on the phone.
Photo Credit - Kat Hill Photography
what about my guest list numbers?
For those of you that have a larger wedding planned, it may be worth checking to see if you can reduce these numbers if things don’t go to plan. We fully appreciate that you may want the big celebration but if restrictions are in place for a longer period - would you consider reducing numbers? Whether that be 30, 50 or 100 now is the time to plant that seed and have some thoughts into whether this would be an option.
From our experience, more couples are now coming round to the idea of a smaller wedding especially those that have already had to postpone their wedding. Again, it’s a tough call but something worth considering as an option rather than delaying things further. This can be hard when you have friends and family coming from overseas or have a large family, we get it. Therefore reducing numbers drastically may not be an option for you.
Photo Credit - Kat Hill Photography
CHECK THE SMALL PRINT ON YOUR WEDDING CONTRACTS
Check all your contracts and the small print with all your suppliers before booking them and ask them what their position is in terms of future postponements and whether any costs will be incurred. Likewise, what would the process be in the event that you do reduce numbers and this will mean a change in service and/or product being supplied. This for example will be with suppliers such as caterers or marquee provider. You need to be clear on how your contract will be affected in these scenarios whether they are implemented by you, the supplier or government restrictions.
As a Wedding Planner, this is something we take on as it can be so overwhelming and also knowing through our experience of what questions to ask and what cover and support you need in the event that you need to postpone your wedding day.
If you are unsure, always seek clarification from the wedding supplier or legal advice.
With all communication, ensure you keep it open and honest. When talking with them about postponements, as mentioned before do be mindful that many are small businesses and currently facing severe financial loses and uncertaintity so keeping to existing payment plans will be a huge support to them.
We are all on this emotional rollercoaster together and all on your side. Each and everyone of us is here to support you and do all within our power to help you through these tricky times. Remember, we are also all learning how to navigate our way through these times and nobody has a crystal ball so the more we work together, the stronger and happier the outcome will be!
Image Credit - Motiejus Photography
focus on your PRIORITIES when planning your wedding
It is difficult not to get wrapped up in other peoples opinions or reading the press with so much negative news out there. Take a step back, focus on the positive and the real meaning of what your day is all about. Yes, it may come later than originally planned or you may have to adapt a few elements of your day but ultimately it is about marrying the one you love with the nearest and dearest around you.
Whilst it is good to think about the future and consider a postponement or adapting your original day to perhaps a smaller event, if you have a date from April 2021 onwards you may have to ride the storm for a little longer until we get a little more clarification from the government. Things are forever changing and who knows where we will be in a few months time? There is even positive talk today in the press about a vaccine. So sit tight, focus on the positives and use the energy to remember we are all in this together and will come out stronger and boy, will we be ready to party!
If things are still just too much for you to handle or just so overwhelming please do get in touch as we have some great planning in a pandemic bespoke solutions to support you on your wedding planing journey. Contact us here
With Love
Susie and Libby x