Life is unpredictable and things happen that are out of our control, but we need to focus on staying calm and crafting a plan. During this time, uncertainly can leave us upset, overwhelmed, and frustrated — we totally get it! That’s why we’re writing this blog post today – because we want to share with you what we believe is the best plan of action for postponing your wedding due to a natural disaster, emergency, or in the case we are currently dealing with -the COVID-19 aka Coronavirus.
- The first thing we recommend is to speak to the venue or your planner to discuss your options – depending on the date and location of your wedding you may be able to keep everything as is – or postpone and select a new date or location.
- Once you have an idea of what your options are, inform those closest to you – immediate family and bridal party. They are the most important and their attendance means a ton, so speak to them individually and tell them what is happening. They will understand and they love you, they will make every effort to help and maybe even ease the pressure of communicating this change to all your other guests.
- Notify your guests via email as soon as possible, you don’t necessarily need to give a new date right away, but people do need to know especially during this time of uncertainty. If there’s a date change, this may mean some people’s availability will change. Think about the positive, maybe some that weren’t able to make it before are now available.
- Consider the availability of your venue, date and favorite vendors. A call or email to them is super important, the faster the better because as wedding professionals we have already booked out for the majority of the year and we want to do the best we can in accommodating your new date and location. If you’re having a destination wedding, this can get tricky if your vendors are not local and require travel expenses, be sure to keep that in mind.
- Make a decision on what date, location, and vendors you will be working with and update your guests with the details via email. You can certainly send a paper or physical update, but right about now, knowing the changes that are coming as soon as possible helps us stay calm and gives us a sense of relief.
- Make changes or updates to any unordered materials such as invitations, save the dates, personalized items, wedding websites, etc. that include your date or location. If any of these details have already been printed, reach out to the company and see if there’s anything that they can do to help, even if it’s just a small discount.
Above all, remember to Keep Calm. Yes, this sucks, but what’s most important is that you have one another, you, your guests, and your vendors are safe, and that you are making moves and keeping everyone informed. In times like these, our single most important piece of advice is to BREATHE + LOVE + PRAY.
Here is a template you can use to email your guests that there will be a postponement:
Dear guests,
In lieu of the situation with the Coronavirus, we have decided to postpone our wedding to a later date this year so that we can celebrate safely. As soon as we have more information regarding the details of the wedding, we will update you. We are sorry for this inconvenience, however, please know that your safety is our main concern at this time. Please continue to monitor information from the CDC, local and state authorities; avoid travel to outbreak hotspots; practice social distancing, swap hugs for a friendly wave; and, last but not least, wash your hands often.
We will be in touch soon.
Love, Bride and Groom
Here is a template you can use to email your guests that a new date has been confirmed:
Dear guests,
In lieu of the situation with the Coronavirus, we have decided to postpone our wedding so that we can celebrate safely. We have moved the date to ____ at _____. We are sorry for this inconvenience, however, please know that your safety is our main concern at this time. We understand that this may mean making changes to your airfare and travel itineraries. We also understand this changes your availability and would be honored to continue to count with your presence. We are saddened about this change as we had such a beautiful celebration planned, but know that whatever may happen, we have your love, support, and well wishes.
(Add any new RSVP information or contact for the hotel/planner/travel agent/other resource)
We’d love to know how you’re feeling about the situation. Are there any questions or concerns we can help address?
We continue to monitor information from the CDC, local and state authorities; avoid travel to outbreak hotspots; practice social distancing, swap hugs for a friendly wave; and, last but not least, wash your hands often. Should there be any other changes, we will inform you accordingly.
Love, Bride and Groom
We created these templates, but you can find other templates over at The Every Last Detail Blog
XOXO, David + Meivys
M Suarez Photography
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