My heart goes out to all the brides of party planners who had to postpone their wedding or event. There’s nothing more frustrating than planning for months (if not years), then not see your dream wedding come true. So what happens next? Here are five things that are important to consider when rescheduling.

1. Don’t Forget Etiquette

First and foremost, let your closets friends and family members know via call or text. Be sure to include any guests that might be making travel arrangements. You don’t have to have a new date set, but the sooner your friends and family know the original date will be moved the better. This avoids finding out from any other source that isn’t you. For anyone that already booked a room, see if you can negotiate with the hotel and cancel or move the date without added fees. Lastly, don’t forget to send out Change the Dates Cards and Thank You Cards to all who attended physically AND virtually.

2. Consider the Following When Choosing the New Date

The bottom line is that it’s hard to get the same turnout, especially with the new capacity restrictions. With that in mind, what’s most important to you, guest, vendors or date? If the key people around you are what’s most important to you then take the time to make sure they can attend your new wedding date. You wouldn’t want to see yourself finding someone to fill in for your Maid of Honor, any of your bridesmaids or groomsmen. It is important to remember that during a pandemic, not everyone is comfortable attending large gatherings, so try to reassure your wedding party. If a specific vendor is what you want most, then talk to your vendor and reschedule around their calendar. Not a bad move if you booked the hottest DJ in town. So, what about date? Maybe not a specific day, but you cannot wait another year to marry your special someone. This means you are willing to scarify a lot of planning, and some of your guests to be a married couple in 2020. If that’s the case – Just go for it! Plan for a smaller guest count and see if vendors are willing to work with you. This leads us to the next point – vendor contracts.

3. Review Your Contracts

What kind of a safety net do you have for postponing or cancelling? Greg Esterhai from EventSured explained that people who had weddings scheduled for earlier in the year (March-May) could’ve been eligible for their event insurance to cover costs of rescheduling or cancelling due to COVID-19. Many insurances and vendors however, have added COVID-19 as an exclusion to their contracts. What does this mean? Basically, you no longer have a valid reason for a cancellation or reschedule since this is now a known event. Vendors however understand the situation and may be willing to move a few things around out of the goodness of their heart, but not bound to any contract.
So do you need an event insurance? An event cancellation insurance is still a good idea. If there’s something that COVID-19 has taught us is that we cannot count on everything going as planned. A Cancellation policy for a $25,000 wedding ranges from $200 – $300 dollars. Prices didn’t rise due to the pandemic, which is why it makes sense that it is excluded from the policy. This policy can be purchased 1 year prior to the event and up to 14 days prior to the event. It covers everything that could unpredictably happen: inclement weather, death in the family (not due to COVID), military deployment, and more.

4. Plan to Scale Down or Up

Let’s say you have rescheduled for 2021. We have no clear knowledge as to when social distancing measures will be in effect. If you want your full original guest count, you may need to change venues. What?! I know! In order to comply with safe distancing, you may need to scale up your venue or scale down your guest count. Why can’t we just have it all at no extra costs?

5. Rely on Technology

As mentioned before, many guests will not feel comfortable attending a large event. Plan on having someone livestream your wedding. Doesn’t have to be a professional. Now days anyone can grab a camera and hit record. If you’re worried about having EVERY ONE of your Facebook friends watching. Make a private group! You will be able to accept or reject anyone who tries to join. You can also send an invitation to join the private group only to those who you want to share that special moment with. At the end of the day – it doesn’t matter how everyone gathers as long as they gather to celebrate this very special moment with you.