If you are here because your wedding plans are affected by the ongoing pandemic, I want to start by saying how sorry I am. Planning a wedding in itself can sometimes be very stressful, so I can’t imagine what it’s like when you add an unforeseen pandemic in the mixture. When I am writing this, we are in mid-April 2020, and most of the countries are in lockdown or have regulations on social distancing set in place. By now, you have probably realised that you won’t be able to celebrate your wedding as planned. Even if it’s hard to realize it, please remember that taking social responsibility is the most important thing, and that this is all temporary. You will eventually be able to celebrate your love with your dear ones!
In this little blog post I have compiled some useful things to think about when adjusting your wedding to the current situation, and I hope that you find it useful!
1.Scale down or move your wedding date?
As we all know, restrictions vary a lot depending on where you live. If your country isn’t in lockdown, it might be still possible to elope. Maybe it is not the way you thought you would get married, but that way you can still tie the knot on your designated wedding date. And don’t worry, you can still celebrate your marriage with all your loved ones by throwing a big party when this is all over! If you decide to elope or scale down your wedding, the most important thing is that you do it safely following your government’s current restrictions. Talk with your vendors and come up with a plan for how you can get married as safely as possible, while still having a beautiful day and celebrating your love.
If however, you have had a picture in your head on what your wedding day is supposed to look like, the best thing to do is to move your wedding to a date when it is possible to realise your dream wedding.
2. Postpone instead of Cancel
If you have come to the conclusion that you don’t want to elope, or it’s not even possible for you to do it where you live- take a deep breath. You do not have to cancel your whole wedding, just postpone it. As many wedding vendors are hugely affected by the virus, we are trying to do our best to help our couples with their postponement plans and fit you in on a new date. I would suggest that you make any date changes as soon as possible, and then take a well-deserved break from the wedding planning!
3.Contact your vendors and read trough your contract
The first thing you should to do is to contact your vendors if they haven’t reached out to you yet. Read through your contract and discuss with them what suggestions they have for postponing your wedding.
How you reschedule your wedding with your vendors is entirely reliant on what is stated in your contact. Some vendors might charge you a new booking-fee for rebooking to a high season Saturday next year, some might not. Your vendor might have increased her or his prices since you booked, so a price increase might be possible in you reschedule to the following year. There is no one right way to do it, and one vendor can’t be compared to another.
If there is a price increase to rebook your wedding to 2021, or your vendor is charging you a new booking fee, please know that the vendor is not doing it to take advantage of the situation. Instead, it is trying to keep his or her business afloat during this difficult time. By moving your wedding to a Saturday during the 2021 high-season, not only is your vendor missing out on a big part of her income during 2020 depending on your payment plan, but he or she is missing out on a potential new booking for that 2021 Saturday and thus won’t get payed. By getting married outside of the high season or on a weekday, you might be able to keep your retainer and current package, at the same time as you support your wedding vendor’s business.
4. Decide on your new date
After that you have discussed with your partner when you would potentially like to get married again, talk with your venue and your essential vendors about their availability on that date. As a wedding photographer, I am used to being directly in contact with other vendors, and I am sure that your vendors can work together to try to find a new date when they are all available.
5. A vendor isn’t available
If one of your vendors isn’t available on your new date, for example, your wedding photographer, ask if they might have an affiliate photographer that they work with. An affiliate photographer works under your photographer’s brand and will document your wedding, but usually it is your head photographer who edits all the images. That way, you might not have the wedding photographer you initially wanted, but the editing style of your photos will remain the same. Most vendors have a broad network in the wedding industry, so if your photographer isn’t working with an affiliate, he or she might at least be able to recommend you someone else who shares his or her values.
