kelvin and grace wedding - burbank wedding
Nathan Nowack Photography

Today, I’m sharing some wedding planning tips during this COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Quarantine day 18 here, we’ve successfully helped our clients postpone their weddings and learned a few things along the way. If you don’t have a planner or are not working with a coordinator, feel free to reach out and we’d be happy to help! You are not alone!

DoubleTree Downtown Los Angeles Hotel Wedding Ballroom Fall
Vivian Lin Photography

Postponing the wedding

Typical questions we’ve been getting is “when is it safe to postpone my wedding date to?” Honestly, I can’t tell you when it will be safe. The officials say it could take months for the virus spread to be contained and a vaccine to be developed and tested.

  • Update 4/23/20: With the mandate to stay home extended to May 15 and potentially further. You may want to consider postponing your wedding to 2021. If the city opens up for gatherings, there will likely be limitations.  
  • Posted 3/20/20: If your wedding is within the next 2 months, I’d recommend you consider postponing until the Fall or Winter. One of the reasons not to wait ’till the last minute is that those weddings that supposed to have happened, probably got postponed and they probably snatched up the fall Saturdays already. There are only so many Saturdays in a month, so the sooner you make a decision, the sooner you can check availability with everyone, and proceed with the postponement process. Also, consider moving your wedding to a Friday or Sunday if you’re limited on the dates.
  • If your wedding is in the summer or fall, I would suggest you wait a few more weeks to see how things turn out. Remember it’s not just following government mandate/ban/restrictions, it’s also for the safety and health of your guests, vendors, and everyone involved in putting on the event.

Give yourself time to plan the postponement, especially emotionally — accepting the fact and situation and coping with the changes. Look to your friends and family for support. When you’ve moved passed disappointment, you need to follow these steps:

  1. review the contracts and understand the postponement and cancellation terms.
  2. ask for postponement terms (if it’s not in the contract). Are there any penalties or rebooking fees? Is another deposit or payment required?
  3. notify the venue and vendors of your decision and intent (make sure you have this in writing such as an email)
  4. check if the new date is available at the venue and works for your vendors
  5. confirm all of your vendors are on board before you sign the new contract
  6. review and sign new contracts or addendums/amendments. read the clauses carefully as many vendors have updated the terms in light of the pandemic.
  7. once everything is confirmed, send out change the date information to your guests, and make adjustments to guest count if you need to downsize.

Be optimistic, you just bought some time to finalize and refine the details of your wedding. Take this opportunity to get in shape, add personal touches to your wedding guest experience, choreograph the first dance, and think of ways to make your wedding extra special.

Another question we’re receiving is “If I postpone what happens to the money that I paid to the vendors?” Well, that depends on your contract with the vendors. We always recommend you have a written contract agreement and terms of service with anyone providing a service and/or product. This is when the contracts will come in handy. First, check the terms on postponement and cancellation. See if you’re required to provide a written notice, and by what date, understand if there’s a rebooking fee or penalty to change the date. Once you know the terms, you can reach out to the vendors to ask questions and figure out a solution TOGETHER. Our experience so far has been that vendors and venues are willing to postpone the wedding to a later date (if they’re available), and given the unprecedented scenario, many are offering to waive the penalty or rebooking fees.

Resources for Wedding Postponement:

Portofino Hotel Wedding Party Redondo Beach
Kaysha Weiner Photography

Canceling the Wedding

We have not gotten this question yet, but I know you’re thinking it. “What if I just want to cancel everything and wait until this COVID-19 pandemic to blow over?” If you decide not to deal with postponement and want to cancel the wedding, think about the following before you take action:

  1. Chances are you’ll not get a refund of your deposit/retainer and payments paid up to this point (depending on your contract).
  2. All of the work and effort you’ve put into planning the wedding so far will be wasted and lost.
  3. Your guests could potentially lose money, too, if they’ve booked travel or accommodations and now have to cancel.
  4. Your wedding party has invested in outfits and other items for your wedding.

Of course, if you’re experiencing hardship or have other reasons to cancel the wedding, please talk to the vendors to see if there’s a remedy.  Some vendors are offering an exchange of service and credit towards future events, for example, a photographer may offer an exchange from wedding photography service to a family portrait session and apply the money you’ve paid towards that service.  A makeup artist may offer to do hair/makeup for a future event.  Always get the final agreement on record and spell out the terms, such as expiration date, limitation, and restrictions.

As you know, many wedding professionals are small businesses, including myself. We all have bills to pay and kids to take care of. By canceling your event, we’ve lost the expected income. By asking for a refund, we may not be able to sustain our business and put our family’s wellbeing in jeopardy. During this difficult time, we should be empathic and try our best to help the community out.

Doubletree Downtown LA Wedding
Ailey Artsy Photography

Continuing the Wedding Planning Course

Stick to the plan! If your wedding date is not immediately affected by the coronavirus, stick to the original wedding plan, but keep in mind the following:

  • Book your important vendors such as the wedding planner/coordinator, the photographer, the videographer, and the caterer. These vendors have to physically be there on your wedding day, so the later you book the less availability they have.  DJ and Hair/Makeup artist, too, if you have your eyes set on someone specific.
  • Go ahead and schedule those vendor meetings via video conference calls, such as Zoom, Google Hangout, Skype.  They might not be in the office or shop, but they can still meet and offer consultations.
  • Work on those tasks that you’ve been putting off, build that wedding website, design the save-the-date and invitation suite, shop for wedding items online, such as a guest book, gift card box, tabletop decors, accessories, gift for the wedding party.  You don’t have to purchase anything yet, but browsing to see what option you have during this time would be helpful.
  • Keep in touch with your vendors, make sure you’re still on their calendar, continue your payments as per contract terms, interact with them to continue planning your wedding.

Resources

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