We’re All in This Together

If your wedding is affected by Covid-19, we know you’re stressed right now. But don’t stress, we’re here for you! We’ve both now been in the events industry for a decade and have seen it all. We’ve been there with our clients through the laughs, tears, difficult decisions and have supported them every step of the way.

We want our clients to know that we are all in this together. Even with all the uncertainty and changes surrounding Covid-19. We are here for you to help support and navigate through this difficult time.

Come Up With A Plan of Action

It’s so easy to be swept away in the stress and anxiety surrounding our current crisis. We think back to September 11th, and at the time, it also felt like we would never see the end of it. But we survived and came out stronger. It’s so important to remember that this will also pass. Rather than sitting passively, we’ve come up with a plan of action.

The reality is that Federal and State rules are changing every 24 hours. Even if you haven’t been required to cancel/postpone your wedding at this time, it could very well be a possibility soon. As time passes, more and more couples will have a wedding affected by Covid-19. You want to make sure you’re fully prepared and ahead of this so you can adapt as needed if your plans need to change.

Questions to Ask Your Vendors

We’ve put together some questions we have been asking your vendors to have a better financial understanding of your agreements. If you are a client of ours, we have already reached out to your vendors. However, if you are not a client and need some guidance, here are some questions to get you started:

• What is your cancelation policy for X and Y’s Wedding on April X, 2020, including loss of retainers/deposits and any upcoming balances? Will you offer any leniency or exceptions given government recommendations limiting guest distancing that would lead to cancelations or postponements?
• As a company, are you willing to continue executing the event if it does not follow the CDC and local government recommended social distancing practices with the potential exposure to illness it may have?
• Do you have a plan in place if critical staff members are quarantined or unable to perform their tasks given Covid-19?
• Would you be open to us rescheduling the event to an alternate date or day of the week in 2020?
• If the event is rescheduled, would the original payment schedule apply?
• Could the deposit be applied in full to the rescheduled date?
• Could you please send us all available dates in 2020 so we can compare it with all other vendors?

What Happens to My Deposits?

Many vendors are applying the full or a portion of the deposit to the new date while keeping the original payment schedule. The only real exceptions to this would be the florist and caterer, depending on how soon the wedding is coming up. Those two vendors have “hard costs” and often order and prepay their flowers or food weeks in advance. What is important to remember is that the more notice you give your vendors, the more flexibility they have.

It’s important to know that many vendors will not have Saturday availability. Many of your vendors have already booked their available Saturday dates for the remainder of the year. Therefore, you will likely be rescheduling your wedding to a Friday or Sunday.

It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to transfer over your entire vendor team to the same date. So, it’s crucial to rank the importance of the elements of your wedding. This way, you can decide which date and vendors you want to go with. For any vendors unavailable for your new date, you will likely be held to the contractual terms of your agreement.

Answering Your Guests’ Questions

Your wedding guests will likely go to you with questions about whether your wedding is still on or not. We recommend you to put a short message on your wedding website and direct your guests there. If you’ve decided to postpone your wedding, a message on your website will let your guests know what to expect. We’ve included an example below:

Due to rapidly changing information from the CDC and local government regarding COVID-19, we are making an unfortunate decision to postpone our wedding. We look forward to celebrating with all of you at the later date of XXX. We love you all and want you all to stay safe and healthy.

We’re Going to Get Through This

We understand how heartbreaking it is to have your wedding affected by Covid-19. But, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now, you’re going to have a breathtaking wedding when the time is right.

We’re here for you, we love you, and we’re all in this together!