Tips on How To Manage Postponing Your Wedding During The Coronavirus

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by wedding planning during COVID-19, you’re not alone. We understand that it’s a difficult decision to postpone the most important day of your life that you have likely spent many years dreaming of and many months planning. We are here for you during this time of uncertainty. We want to offer some expert wedding planning advice on how to manage postponing your wedding due the Pandemic.

We have outlined suggestions, steps to take and questions to ask as you and your fiancé try to navigate the decision of postponing your wedding due to Covid-19. We understand that there are varying situations that each couple might face, so let’s set you up with a plan to postpone your wedding in an effective way.

Deciding on Postponement
Whether your wedding be in California, any part of the United States, or another part of the world the uncertainty of the Covid-19 has likely put stress into your wedding planning process. Our recommendation is to ask your core group of guests (family and close friends) if they would feel comfortable attending, traveling a long distance via car or plane and/or staying in a hotel. As a bride and groom this will also assist you to see if the core group of guests you had hoped would attend and if so then you are able to make a decision to have an Intimate Wedding and Reception rather than postpone the whole event.

We recommend having a two track planning system; Plan A – planning for your scheduled date and Plan B – asking your vendors and venue about their Covid-19 and postponement policies. The peace of mind that will come with both planning tracks is immense since a solid foundational plan will be in place for either plan at any time. Making wedding planning decisions, securing vendors and designs for your wedding will also bring forth a sense of positivity and excitement during a time of uncertainty.

For our couples whose wedding is in 2021 but are also feeling the uncertainty, we understand as we don’t know what’s going to happen in the next week let alone 8 months from now with the pandemic. Our recommendation is to create guest lists of 25, 50, 75 and 100 so in the case a new ordinance comes into place you as a couple are prepared and ready. However for weddings scheduled for 2022, we highly encourage our couples to continue their design, planning and booking their vendors since you have the benefit of time.

Managing Postponement
Once you have made the decision to postpone the next step will be to manage the postponing process and how that will effect the venue and vendor teams you have selected.  First is to ask your venue about the available seasons and/or specific dates they have available. That is why the when you are simultaneously planning for Plan B you can gather all this information prior to a postponement decision. Venues will usually agree to hold one date for the bride and groom’s wedding and reception and give them the first right of refusal.
Once you have placed a hold on a postponement date with your venue, we recommend you ask all the vendors you have booked to ensure they too are available on that date. You might come across that the Lead is not available or the company is completely booked, in this case their Covid policies you have gathered can come into play. Postponing is like piecing a puzzle together, if a vendor you wanted is not available we recommend making a list of the top 3 and 5 vendors you must have to make that date work. As a bride and groom this will give you a lot of direction but more importantly understand how you can use the deposits of the vendors that are not available. From our experience with our talented, professional and experienced team of vendors, they all will do all they can to accommodate their bride and groom’s. We all collectively understand and empathize with our couples and their families.

When all the information you need has been gathered then it is best to discuss finalization of the decision with your fiancee and your families. If an auspicious time needs to be considered then that can be reviewed during this time as well. Once a new date has been confirmed, it is imperative that as a couple you inform your venue and vendors immediately so to ensure you have the date. Coronavirus has upended many events and weddings and required so many couple’s to postpone to 2021, we just want to ensure that you get the date you hoped to postpone too.

Send out Change the Date cards! Contact your guests to let them know of the new plan, and what your revised date will be. We know this will bring forth a lot of support, love and sense of excitement for everyone involved.

Once you have postponed your wedding we recommend you taking steps to continue your planning and securing any vendors you may not have. Many vendor teams have limited availability due to Covid-19 postponements and simultaneously new inquiries for 2021, so in a case that a particular vendor is priority for you, we highly recommend securing them.

For many couples having a wedding on the original date is important and we completely understand that sentiment. We recommend having an intimate wedding and/or elopement to still celebrate your union with the closest 25 – 50 people. You can always have your big wedding and reception once the Pandemic is under control. We recommend doing an outdoor wedding and meal so that it provides the most comfort and safety for your friends and family.

With some patience, courage, ingenuity, and flexibility, you’ll still be able to have the wedding you’ve always dreamed of. Treat this as an opportunity to prioritize the things that mean the most to you. And if you need to take some time to process, that’s absolutely fine. No one could have anticipated something like this affecting your wedding, and you are not alone in fighting the emotions that have resulted from it. At the end of the day, your wedding isn’t about a particular date, venue, guest count, or decor element. The only thing that really matters about a wedding day is the commitment to one another. We will get through this and hopefully this will just be one of the many stories you and your partner will be able to share with your grandkids one day! – written by Blue Lotus Insights

For more wedding planning insights and questions to ask your vendors visit us at www.bluelotusinsights.com

A little bit about Blue Lotus Insights
Established in 2009, Blue Lotus Insights is a Boutique Wedding & Special Event Planning and Coordination company experienced in designing, producing and coordinating a variety of events from Social to Corporate. BLI is a premier event planning company with extensive knowledge in the events industry. With the ability to accommodate the wide ranging needs of our clients from the initial design to executing the entire event, BLI makes certain that no detail is overlooked. Guiding our clients by providing valuable insights throughout the event planning process so that we can make your vision come to life. Our goal is to understand our clients specific needs and help focus on an enhanced guest and client experience. We here at BLI are commited to making our clients event planning process as smooth and stress free as possible no matter the scale of the event.

Photography credits – Duke Images, Lin and Jirsa, Braja Mandala