How to postpone a wedding during covid

What a funky time we’re living in… when you set a date for your wedding, make all the plans and hire all the people, only to be interrupted by a certain pesky pandemic and low and behold… you have to face the difficult decision to postpone.

It’s late 2021 now, so we’ve been living and working through this for over 18 months and in that time, I’ve learnt a lot about how best to go about postponing.

Before I go into the do’s and don’ts of best practices, I just ask that you think of all the fabulous suppliers that you have already hired, and the devastation that comes from not being able to accomodate a new date.

Many of us have already done a lot of unseen work towards your big day and cutting ties at this point, leaves us with nothing, well actually less than nothing as we’ve worked towards an event that we can no longer ask for financial retribution for.

It’s a shocking time for everyone, but the wedding industry has been one of the hardest hit.

So if your supplier asks to keep the booking fee, or charge for change-of-dates or more, try not to bulk at the idea.
Everyone is trying to be as fair as possible, whilst keep their businesses as sustainable as they can during such difficult times.

Do’s

• Conduct the clever services of the site https://doodle.com/en/
  That way, you can choose a few possible dates and send them to all your current suppliers to see which one suits most.
  It makes us feel much more important to you and included in the process, rather than simply receiving an email or call that you’ve already gone ahead and chosen.
  You’ve already done the homework of finding your perfect team, who want’s to start again with that shit?!

• Consider a non-Saturday for your next plan.
  As you can imagine, 2022 is always looking pretty chunky with people all the way back from 2020 still trying to get married.
  My hot favourite is a Friday (where you get to spend the rest of the weekend catching up with out-of-towners or simply relaxing in the afterglow.
  If Friday doesn’t work or suit, perhaps a Sunday or even something as racy as a Thursday?!
  How innovative of you!

• Offer to pay a transfer fee.
  Many suppliers now have this in place, but it’s so much nicer if you ask first, before we have to bring up the awkward topic!
  Creatives hate talking about money, but in the end, we have to survive!
  (Mine is only $100 per transfer, many suppliers are asking for much more, and I support that decision whole - heartedly!)

• Let your suppliers know your level of determination to get married, verses wanting the full party.
  I have had lots of clients that have simply gotten married with the maximum 5, with the idea to have a big party sometimes in the future.
  These follow-up parties are awesome and we’ve often held the full ceremony there, just skipping the legals.
  Its been so lovely for me to complete the journey properly with couples and the atmosphere amongst all your peeps that know the back-story… is electric!
  If you want to check out an awesome example, one of my awesome past coupes featured when they held two weddings.
  It. Was. Ace!!!!
  Check it out here!

Dont’s

• Ask the venue only about dates, and just cross your fingers that everyone else can work with it.
  Often we can’t - and the effects are devastating, both to our sense of worth as well as our pockets.

• Have your heart set on a future Saturday.
  See my point in the do’s for an explanation.

• Ask for your booking fee back if your supplier can’t move with you.
  A booking fee is just that - the money that you pay to lock in a date and for most of us, they’re non-refundable.

• Despair!!!! We’ll get you married. Somewhere, somehow. It just might be a bit different to your original plans, but it will be just as incredible - I promise!

So there you have it.
A few tips and tricks to get you on your way.
All the very best and if you need any help making these tough decisions, reach out to your suppliers - we’re here to help!!!!