If you set a date for your wedding and have had to postpone it due to the current events going on in the world, you’re probably feeling a range of emotions (insert the good, the bad, and the ugly). While it’s normal to feel sad, angry, and disappointed, know that you will still have your dream wedding day – there are just a few adjustments that need to be made first.
What to Consider When Postponing Your Wedding Day
1. Get a Professional Involved
If you’ve been working with a wedding planner up until this point, they’re the first person you should turn to at this time. Working with a wedding planner can help take some of the pressure off when you’re already feeling upset about the postponement. The last thing you want to do is to make emotional decisions. By letting a third party help you, it will be easier to make logical decisions about what to do next.
2. Get Realistic About Your Financials
Unfortunately, when there’s a change of plans, it can possibly result in financial losses. You may be able to negotiate with your venue and vendors so that you lose little to no money. However, it’s still best to have realistic expectations. There is a chance that you might lose money or need to pay extra to make the necessary adjustments. Most deposits are non-refundable but your vendors might not have or be able to waive a rescheduling fee.
3. Get In Touch with Your Venue
If you would prefer to start looking at new dates, get in touch with your venue about availability. Again, it’s best to have realistic expectations. If your venue is popular, you may need to wait several months for a new date or even to the next season. If you don’t want to wait, you can always look at new venues, but consider that you would likely be losing your deposit.
4. Get In Touch with Your Vendors
Once you’ve been in touch with both your wedding planner and your venue, ask your venue for a handful of options and move quickly to ask your other vendors if they have availability on those dates as well. This will ensure you can keep as many of your vendor teams as possible without losing big deposits.
If some of your vendors can’t accommodate your new date and you need to fill their role, ask them for referrals. Your vendors will have great people to pass you off to and support their community from within. There is also a chance that you may incur some losses here if you need to switch vendors.
5. Send Out Change the Date Cards
Next, you want to make sure that your guests know about the postponement. If you haven’t yet picked a new date, you can simply let guests know that they will find out about a new date soon. If you’ve already picked a new date, include it on your Change the Date cards. The sooner you can let guests know, the better, particularly if they’re traveling from afar. Consider doing virtual updates to save money on invitations and new save the dates.
These are the main factors to consider when postponing your wedding. If you’ve already planned your honeymoon, don’t forget to make the necessary arrangements there too.
Once you’ve gotten the big adjustments out of the way, you can start looking forward to your big day all over again! WOOT!
If you have any remaining questions, please, do not hesitate to reach out. I’m here for you, I’ve got your back and we will make the best of this crazy train!
xo
Sarah
