Advice for Planning or Rescheduling Your Wedding amid the Coronavirus Covid-19 Pandemic.
You try to prepare for every eventuality at a wedding - we've seen stashes of umbrellas, little sewing kits, emergency food hampers. You try to do everything you can to ensure things run smoothly and everyone enjoys your day.
I think it's fair to say that when you booked your wedding, none of us imagined a global pandemic would throw a spanner in the works, but that's where we're at.
We've had so many concerned emails from couples about how the coronavirus Covid-19 will affect their wedding plans. While we are working closely with all our couples, we thought we'd write this post to help out couples other than our own as well.
First steps…
Ok, the first thing to do is get your priorities right. The majority of our couples are young and not at risk of serious covid-19 symptoms, so it's sometimes hard to get perspective.
We all must think of the more vulnerable members of our society and how this is affecting them mentally and how it could affect them physically. Some parents, grandparents and other family members and friends are at risk. This is a tough and challenging time for them.
We love that a new word, caremongering, has arisen from all of this (thanks, Canada xo). Take some time to pick up your phone and give any vulnerable friends or relatives a call or offer help wherever you can.
If you think it doesn’t matter if you get it as you’re healthy and young, please consider changing your perspective. Imagine that you DO have it and practice the steps you should take not to pass it on to anyone else - the next person who contracts it may not be as healthy as you are.
Getting the right information on Coronavirus.
We live in an era of fake news. For the sake of your mental health, try not to source your news from social media. Instead, follow the official briefings from governmental health officials.
In the UK, you can get your news from https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public and in the Republic of Ireland it is https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/c36c85-covid-19-coronavirus/
These sites will give you not only up-to-date information, but it will be official and accurate. Remember, caremongering, not scaremongering, is what we need.
It's a good idea to keep an eye on developments as things are changing rapidly.
Keep in touch with your venue and suppliers
There’s nothing worse than worrying yourself into a tizzy about scenarios and things that might not happen. It's helpful to stay in touch with your vendors and suppliers. We're all in this together, so no one will mind you emailing or ringing. The best way to avoid stress is to keep channels of communication open.
Stay in touch with guests
Firstly, whatever happens to your wedding plans, people will understand. The thing about a global pandemic is that it affects us all! I mean, it’s not exactly what you’ll call a positive, but there’s a certain camaraderie in all of this.
If you are postponing things, let your guests know as soon as possible so that they can cancel any accommodation or flights. Often, accommodation bookings have a deadline for refunds so it's helpful to let them get in early.
Wedding insurance and coronavirus
If you have wedding insurance in place, it may cover you if your wedding is postponed. Many compensate if your venue shuts due to the outbreak of infectious or contagious disease. Covid-19 seems to fall into that category. Look through your documentation or check with your insurance provider to be sure.
Spare a thought for wedding suppliers during the coronavirus pandemic
Many suppliers are terrified right now because their whole livelihood is tumbling. Most individual suppliers in this industry are self-employed and have little by way of a safety net.
If cancelling or postponing your wedding, give suppliers reasonable notice. Especially, give fair warning to people like florists and caterers, so they have time to cancel flower and food orders that are no longer needed.
If you can, support your local businesses and wedding suppliers in this challenging time. Maybe order a bouquet from your florist to send to a worried grandparent. Perhaps you could treat yourself to an order of cupcakes and help out a caterer. Order a card from your wedding stationery business. Maybe book in a couple shoot or family photo session.
Rearranging your wedding
Many of you that planned to get married in the next few weeks may have to rearrange your wedding. Here are some tips to help you:
As early as possible, please talk with your venue to find out what dates they can offer you, then with your suppliers to find which of those dates suits everyone.
Make sure deposits and balances are transferable. We are transferring all money paid to any rearranged dates, but it's good to make sure your supplier can and will do this.
Consider a midweek wedding. Most vendors and venues will have greater flexibility from Sun-Thursday. By opting for a midweek wedding, you also stand a better chance of having your wedding closer to the original date, rather than waiting until winter or new year.
Defer your honeymoon until things improve. No one can say how long travel will be affected, so it is a good idea to take action now.
Going ahead with your wedding during the coronavirus pandemic
Hopefully, we are past the worst of the pandemic by this stage but there are no guarantees - complacency is the thing that could lead to a second wave. If you’re going ahead with your wedding in 2021 you’ll have to be mindful of the guidance and precautions that you’ll need to heed and be ready for the government making last minute changes that scupper your plans.
Our advice is to keep things small and maneagable. Make sure you communicate with your guests and be understanding if vulnerable guests decide that they’d rather not come.
Hopefully, this post helps. Maybe you have even more questions after reading it - if so, post in the comments below and we’ll try to get back to you as best we can.
In challenging times like this, the best we can do is be thoughtful, kind and caring. Instead of panicking and hoarding toilet roll and hand sanitiser, reach out to the people that are in most need of our care right now.
Try and stay positive and enjoy any acts of humanity and kindness you see - our friend Chris made us laugh just today by singing ‘Covid 19, keep your hands nice and clean’ to the tune of ‘Come on Eileen.’
Let's take each day as it comes, but please be assured that we're in this together and we know we will be celebrating with you soon.
"In years to come… let them say of us… when things were at their worst… we were at our best."