Our first post, co-written by Sara Stanzia of Prospect Therapy, dove into the emotional changes you may be experiencing after postponing your wedding. Our goal at Sweet Peach Planning is to make sure our clients are supported and educated while postponing on both an emotional and logistical level. If you missed the first post click HERE to get caught up before jumping into today's step by step plan of action.
After you and your love go back and forth, considering every option and reviewing every angle, you have finally decided to postpone. Then what?
I've been a member of The Bridal Society, a group of Certified Wedding Professionals that believe in raising the standard in the wedding industry. I was first certified in 2013 and then again in 2015. Since I have attended National Conferences, done online education and worked in tandem with this organization to make sure I'm top notch to take the best care of my clients. Laurie Hartwell, the founder of The Bridal Society, made sure to support all the members by creating a checklist for all our clients to follow.
Below you will find these steps, a PDF to download and keep plus I prepare you with any possible pain points that may arise during this process.
THE LOGISTICS BEHIND YOUR WEDDING POSTPONEMENT
Have an open discussion with your certified Wedding Planner.
Your Certified Wedding Planner has their finger on the pulse of the wedding industry, and they talk to your wedding professionals on a regular basis. Your Certified 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 Certified 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 Certified Wedding Planner for more than month-of coordination, they will read all of your contracts with the hired wedding pros as well as your venue. Your Certified Wedding Planner will then 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.
Communicate with your venue.
You and your Certified 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.
Communicate with your wedding pros.
You and your Certified 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 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.
Receive contract addendums 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 addendums with their signatures as well.
Select new wedding pros. (if applicable)
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 Certified 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 Certified Wedding Planner.
Continue your planning.
Now that the hard part is over, you can continue with your plans and trust in the advice of your Certified Wedding Planner.
If you want to download and print or save in your computer click here :
Now that you know what actions to take I wanted to share a few roadblocks that might appear and how to deal with them.
There may be additional costs.
Your vendors will do everything they can to make your new date work, but be prepared there may be additional costs due to a lot of factors. If the new date you choose is already taken by another couple then they will have to pay additional staff to cover both events. The hard costs may rise, for instance if you hired a florist or caterer they have priced out food and flowers for that season and moving to a year later their prices will raise. Lots of vendors base their rate off of hours worked and if your vendor needs to redo all their work from scratch it is fair for them to be compensated for their time.
Your vision may need to be adjusted.
If you were planning a Summer wedding now in late Fal your outdoor affair will now need to go from outside to inside, Peonies may have to switch to pumpkins and peach cobbler may now need to be a pumpkin pie. Don't let these small details change your excitement. Just understand that different seasons yield different fresh offerings and embrace what is fresh for your new date.
Some guests may not attend.
Due to the economic impact this situation has had on so many families there will be many months if not years of recuperating financially. Some people may no longer have the means to travel, take time off work or get a wedding present. Make sure to show grace and understanding to these friends and family members. If at all possible consider adding an online factor to your big day to say hello to guests that can not travel or are possibly still nervous about being in public due to health restrictions.
I have so much empathy for what you are going through and I'm prepared to be a rock of support to listen to your concerns, share advice and be a support system for you during this time. Please prepare yourself that everything may not be the way you had planned but that the ultimate goal is to marry the person you love and all the other details, although important, all pale in comparison to having your true love to take this journey with you.
I'm sending each of you healthy and happy thoughts during this unprecedented time in our world. I look forward to the time I can see you all in person and give you a big hug and chat over a cup of coffee in a crowded cafe.