COVID-19 or as it's more commonly known, coronavirus, has impacted our world in a huge way. It's a horrible situation for everyone and if you are planning a 2020 wedding, it has probably impacted your wedding in one way or another. Wedding planning can be stressful and the coronavirus situation certainly doesn't help at all. If you are wondering if you should cancel or postpone your wedding, then this blog post will have a few things to consider.
Should you cancel your wedding?
You and your fiancé love each other and have been excited about your upcoming wedding so my advice is not to cancel your wedding completely! You shouldn't have to cancel your wedding completely over the virus. You both still love each other and want to spend the rest of your lives together so don't let coronavirus change that!
Should you reschedule your wedding?
Now that the whole cancelling your wedding is out of the way, let's talk a bit about if you should reschedule your wedding. There are a few things to keep in mind here.
Is your wedding in March, April, or Early May?
A lot of places are putting capacity limits on events. If your wedding falls within the time limit on the capacity limit, then you may have no choice but to reschedule your wedding. The first thing you will want to do here is contact your venue. Make sure they are still prepared and ready for your wedding. As long as everything is a go with your wedding venue, then you may still be able to have your wedding on your original wedding date. You will want to make sure that your guests list number (including vendors and staff that would be present) fall under the capacity limits that are put in place for your area. If your guest list was above this number, then you may need to reduce the guest count.
Is your wedding in June-December?
If your wedding is for later in the year, then everything may be okay by then and the capacity limits and travel bans may be lifted. Instead of making the call to reschedule your wedding now, try to wait a bit to see what ends up happening. It may not be worth it to put added stress on yourself by re-planning and rescheduling your wedding if everything goes back to normal soon.
Is your wedding venue in a location with a travel ban/limit?
Are you having a destination wedding in another country that is in the next 30-60 days, you may need to look at rescheduling your wedding. If you can't get to or from your wedding venue, then your guests won't be able to get there either. Again, if your wedding is later on in the year, you may want to wait things out a bit to see what ends up happening.
Are you immune compromised?
Your health and safety should always be the upmost concern. If being around a lot of people and/or traveling would be detrimental to your health then rescheduling your wedding may be the best bet.
Things to consider.
If you do decide to reschedule your wedding, then here are a few things to consider.
Rescheduling and cancelation fees.
Cancelling and rescheduling your wedding may incur some fees. You will want to read your contracts with all of your vendors to see what the cancellation and rescheduling sections of your contract says. Since the coronavirus is really unprecedented times, a lot of wedding professionals are having more lenient rescheduling policies (such as allowing reschedules for March-May couples for a date within 12 months of their wedding) so you will want to reach out to them and keep them updated. If you do end up cancelling your wedding, your contract's cancellation policy would apply.
Vendor limitations.
If you do reschedule your wedding you will want to make sure that all of your vendors are available on your new date. Wedding professionals can only service so many weddings per day (with most vendors only able to service one like your venue, photographer, videographer, etc) so you will want to keep this in mind. If you have a wedding planner, they can communicate with all of your wedding vendors to find a new date so you won't have to do all the leg work. Keep in mind that wedding vendors book in advance so your date options may be limited so be prepared to possibly have a non Saturday wedding or a wedding in the off season.
Consider a livestream.
If you don't want to reschedule your wedding or you are afraid that a lot of your guests may not be able to attend your wedding, consider setting up a livestream of your event. This will allow everyone to still be able to be at your wedding even if they aren't able to be there physically. You can even mail out favors, etc to add a more personalized touch. Although you can set up a livestream yourself, it will be less stressful and better video quality if you hire a service to do this. Some livestream services will let you see your guests at home as well! Check in with your DJ to see if they offer live-streaming services that you can add on or check with your wedding planner for recommendations.
Check in with your guests.
Regardless if you decide to cancel, reschedule, or continue on with your original wedding date, check in with your guests and keep them updated. Your guests are probably wondering what will happen with your wedding so send them a quick email and update your wedding website letting them know the game plan. If you are planning on moving forward with your wedding in the next 60 days, let your guests know that if they are feeling ill, are immune compromised, unable to travel, or just uncertain of the virus that you understand if they are unable to make it and that you urge them to stay home and get better if they are ill.
Regardless of what you decide, your vendors, family, and guests are here to support you and help you through this difficult time. Don't be afraid to reach out for help and advice.
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