It's no secret that it's been difficult to navigate the pandemic and our life plans, and so many people have had to make the difficult decision to post-pone their dream wedding for a later date (some have had to do this multiple times now!) and it can be an absolute headache, or feel like a disaster if you don't know where to start, if you need to post-pone. To save yourself some stress, here's a wedding postponement checklist for you to go through with your wedding planner to make moving your wedding date a breeze.
Have an open discussion with your wedding planner
Your wedding planner has their finger on the pulse of the wedding industry, and they talk to your wedding professionals on a regular basis. Your wedding planner will tell you what they feel would be the best amount of time between your current wedding date and your future one. If you decide to move forward with your current wedding date, your wedding planner will let you know if they feel comfortable working your event due to their personal health concerns.
Read your contracts with the venue and other wedding pros
If you hired your wedding planner for more than day-of coordination, they would read all of your contracts with the hired wedding pros as well as your venue, and then they will tell you their findings and give you advice on how to move forward.
Be flexible
Knowing that you will have to postpone your wedding day is difficult to say the least. Now that we are in this situation, which is out of anyone’s control, it is important to remember that your venue and wedding pros likely already have weddings booked on Saturdays for the foreseeable future. This means that you will need to be flexible and open when determining your future wedding date. Fridays and Sundays may be your best bet. You may even want to consider another weekday. In the beginning, you can try for Saturdays, but think about Fridays & Sundays as a backup plan. Mondays through Thursdays can be considered your last resort options.
Connect with your venue
You and your wedding planner will need to ask your venue which dates they have available in the future (6 to 12 months from now). Compare this with the dates your hired wedding pros give you. You and your wedding planner will need to reach out to all of the hired wedding pros to see which dates they have available in the future (6 to 12 months from now). Compare this with the dates your venue gives you.
Select a new wedding date
Select a new date that works for everyone as soon as possible. This will ensure that you will incur the least amount of changes to your dream team. Make this decision sooner rather than later. Select a new date that works for everyone as soon as possible. This will ensure that you will incur the least amount of changes to your dream team. Make this decision sooner rather than later.
Receive contract addendum's from your venue and wedding pros
Now that you have selected a new date with all or most of your wedding pros, it is time to get it in writing. Have them all send you an addendum to their contracts for your signature, and make sure that you get a copy of these addendum's with their signatures as well.
Select new wedding pros if necessary
Hopefully, by being flexible, you are able to salvage most or all of your original wedding pros. However, if a few of them were unable to accommodate your new wedding day, you and your wedding planner can work together in finding the right replacements for your needs.
Inform your guests of the new date
If you have sent out your invitations already, now is the time to let your guests know about your new plans with the new date. You can put this information on your wedding website and simply send out a link to your guests asking them to read the updates there. You can also resend wedding invitations or create a private Facebook Messenger thread to only the invited guests letting them know what changes you have made. If you have not yet sent out your original invitations, then you can simply continue with the planning process as usual. If you are unsure of how to move forward based on your situation, consult your wedding planner. Now that the hard part is over, you can continue with your plans!! They want only the best for you and your event. Good luck and stay safe!
xo.
Erin