Is the pandemic ruining your whimsical wedding?
Even if the planet is under lockdown, your dream destination wedding can still happen. Planning a destination wedding during these though times may spike your tension levels, but remember your wedding is still happening, only that you must embrace some changes. Countries have started to open their borders, and travel is slowly becoming open again. Your dream of a destination wedding in an exotic place will be a reality.
There is no time to soak your pity in wine, choose action because the action is the antidote to fear and right now, the best chance to achieve your dream is to take control of the situation and navigate uncharted waters. Yes, your wedding will look different than the one you pictured, but who says it won’t be one-to-remember?
As long as your wedding is planned in the autumn, it can happen
At present, all large weddings are affected by COVID-19. If your wedding is in the summer, you may want to follow Princess Beatrice’s example, and throw a private party. Beatrice and Edoardo decided to hold a small intimate ceremony with their closest relatives after they postponed their wedding earlier this year. And we love that Princess Beatrice took a break from the past royal brides. They worked with couturiers to craft custom gowns and borrowed a Normal Hartnell gown from her grandmother the Queen, made from Peau De Soie organza and taffeta, trimmed with satin, and encrusted with diamonds. Beatrice paid homage to the Queen, not only by borrowing one of her gowns but also by wearing the Queen Mary’s diamond fringe tiara, the same piece of jewellery; the Queen wore on her wedding day.
For a fall wedding, you have more time for planning, and you can work with the venue and guests to find a solution. Right now, it’s essential to stay informed with the latest news in the country where you plan the event and make educated decisions. Don’t postpone your wedding, or do anything drastic before you inform properly. At present, the time is weird for large weddings, and if you want to stick with the date, you need to cut down the guests list. But if you want everyone to be present on your big day, it’s best to check the venue’s availability for a postponement.
Is there a cautious way to prepare for your wedding?
To make the right decision when the time comes, have a serious discussion with your wedding planner, venue, and supplies providers. It doesn’t hurt to contact the venue and find out what availability they have for postponements, ask the wholesale ribbons seller if they can offer a discount during the pandemic, and work with the stationery company to modify the wedding invitations if the epidemic prevents you from having the wedding on the established date. Regularly consult the regulations to figure out if there are travel bans, quarantine measures, or COVID-19 tests, you must follow if you travel to a destination for your wedding.
Talk to the venue – for popular sites that have more than 50 weddings a year; it may be challenging to postpone all events and find suitable dates for all clients. So, you may have to wait another year to have your wedding if you want to delay it or choose a day of the week. For fall weddings, popular venues don’t even consider postponement because they first have to handle spring and summer events. Talk to the venue and ask them if they have a support system you can rely on.
Contact the vendors – even if you don’t want to think about it, you may want to consider the worst scenario, so you can prepare and come with a backup plan. Reach each one of your vendors, and ask them about solutions if you have to postpone the wedding, or have the event at a smaller scale. You should also come up with a plan if your or your partner gets diagnosed with COVID-19 because it may imply putting the wedding on hold for an indefinite time. It’s best to sign contracts with all vendors, and include terms and conditions that establish a framework for the worst-case scenario. Have transparent and honest conversations with your suppliers on the topic of sanitisation and what they are doing to keep everyone safe.
Stay on touch with everyone – your family members and friends will constantly bother you with questions, so it’s best to create a chat group that includes everyone and keep them on the loop with the changes. When people are travelling around the world to attend your wedding, they want to know ahead if they need to cancel their flight tickets, accommodation, or if they need to change the travel date.
You may want to postpone the wedding
You may decide out of precaution to postpone the wedding. Get in touch with the planner and ask them to assist you in shifting to a date when your wedding can happen. If you don’t have a planner, this is the moment to find one because they are experts in postponing events, and they can offer a-la-carte services.
Start with your contracts – to figure out when and in what conditions you can postpone the event, consult the contracts with the venue, suppliers and vendors. While some may allow negotiation, others may require service cancellation because they won’t work with the new date. Avoid obtuse language, be honest and transparent because the times are challenging for both of you.
Pick a new date – this step involves consulting the guests and speaking with your vendors. Work your way down from the immediate family and friends, and the most expensive suppliers to the least important. It’s best to focus on a season rather than a month or day to get better results. Before confirming the new date with the venue, verify it with 90% of the vendors. Sometimes it’s easier to find another venue than looking for alternatives for suppliers and vendors.
And last but not least be prepared to pay some fees is you choose to postpone the wedding out of precaution and not because the government prohibits events.
