How to Reschedule a Wedding
2020 has brought a lot of difficulty to the wedding industry and couples are lost in confusion about how to navigate these uncharted waters.
COVID-19 has been an unprecedented situation for everyone in New England, let alone for couples that were planning their weddings prior to everything falling apart. What was supposed to be a time of celebration and togetherness has become a period of stress and social distancing.
For many couples planning their Boston wedding, this situation has lead to a lot of tearful cancellations and confusion. It’s our hope that we can help couples navigate these uncharted waters and bring their event safely past the crisis.
Making the Decision:
While for some couples, the decision to cancel their event was made for them, for many others it’s less clear what the extent of the disaster might be and how much it will disrupt their events and the industry as a whole. Past the current window of mandatory stay-at-home orders and bans on large gatherings, couples will have to assess their own risk as well as the risk to their important guests.
Part of that assessment will also be communicating with wedding vendors to understand their policies. COVID-19 has caused unprecedented damage to the wedding industry, but many vendors have been stepping up where possible to give couples additional flexibility in moving wedding dates. If you haven’t been required to cancel, then before you make a decision to reschedule you’ll want to know what policies your vendors have in place to help. If you’ve purchased event insurance to cover you in case of an emergency, you’ll also want to check with your agent to see how you’ll be covered in case there are unforeseen costs - loss of deposits, having to reprint stationery, or different package prices (for example, some venues have lower rates for Sunday weddings and if you want to change to a Saturday you might have to pay more).
There’s also nothing wrong with just cancelling and havin g smaller event (or just eloping when you’re able to). Times are tough and odd.
Make a Checklist:
Go over all your wedding planning notes and put together a checklist of all the different vendors and services you’ve booked so you can make sure you haven’t forgotten anything. Your favorite Boston wedding photographer has put together a little prompt below to get you started.
Make a list of your vendors and check it twice when you’re planning to reschedule your wedding.
Inform Your Guests:
This doesn’t have to be very formal, but if you’re going to change the date of your event, then let your guests know as soon as possible so they can make any changes or cancellations to their own plans. Don’t worry if you don’t have an alternative planned, you can always keep everyone updated through your wedding website or social media.
Finding a New Date for your Boston Wedding:
This is one of the bigger hurdles, trying to track down available dates with your vendors to reschedule your wedding, and sometimes having to decide if it’s worth looking at later (or less popular dates) in order to keep all your vendors. You’re probably going to need to be proactive about this, since many vendors are working with all their clients to reschedule events.
For our couples that have been affected through September, we’ve offered access to our availability calendar so they can have a real-time look at their options and use similar measures from other vendors to figure out their plans. Depending on your priorities, you might have to be a little flexible with your dates since many vendors might already have fairly full calendars through 2021.
Of course it isn’t all about your favorite Boston wedding photographer, your guests are important as well. Double check with your VIPs (the people you absolutely can’t imagine getting married without) to see if any of the dates conflict.
A change in the date might mean a change in your wedding vision, but keep in mind that whatever date you’re married on is going to be special. It’s okay to feel bummed or disappointed that things aren’t going to be exactly as you imagined, but your wedding is going to be amazing no matter what the date.
Adapt:
Von Moltke once wrote that “no plan survives contact with the enemy” and it’s just as true with planning your Boston wedding as it is in war. Changing your date might mean changing a lot of different pieces of your wedding (especially if you’re now getting married in a different season). of course not every detail has to change
Attire: Does your wedding fashion still work with the season and your new plans? For example, if you were getting married in the summer and are now looking at the Fall, maybe you’ll need to add a wrap or shrug to keep people warm.
Florals and Food: Blooms and beans are seasonal products and changing the date of your wedding could mean that certain items aren’t available or they’re more expensive. Reach out to your florist and caterer to see if there are changes that would make sense.
Timelines: In New England, summer days can seem to last forever but the rest of the year can get dark pretty quickly. If you’re planning on being outdoors for any part of your wedding (or want to get some great golden hour pictures with your favorite Boston wedding photographer) then you’re going to need to reexamine your wedding timeline. Maybe it makes more sense to have the ceremony earlier.
Themes and Colors: If you wanted to bring seasonal elements into your wedding, these might change if you’re pushing your wedding back into the Fall or are headed into the Winter. But if you’re so over wedding planning and don’t want to start from scratch, a beach-theme can still bring the heat in the dead of winter (though people will probably skip the shorts and Hawaiian shirts).
Decor and Gifts: If you had anything made up with the date on it, you might consider changing those around especially with photo-booth props and wedding favors.
Re-Inviting Your Guests:
Once you’ve figured out your new plan, it’s time to let your guests know about the changed date. There aren’t a lot of rules or etiquette around rescheduling your wedding, so feel free to make things a little less formal (for example, you can switch to electronic invites if you don’t want to splurge on new invitation suites). Alternately you can send a “Change the Date” postcard (there are plenty of great templates that have been made) to your guests to direct them to re-RSVP for your new date.
If possible, I would also send the new invitations to any guests that had sent their regrets as they may be able to attend the new date. If you have to go in a very different direction and need to trim the guest list, make a general statement about the change in plans and if you can reach out to any guests that you can no longer accommodate to explain the circumstances (or have an appropriate relative reach out on your behalf). It’s going to be an awkward conversation, but hopefully people will understand.
What steps have you been taking around COVID-19 for your wedding? Are there any other tips that you’d give for couples looking to reschedule their events?
Ryan Richardson is a wedding and engagement photographer serving Boston and beyond; including Cape Cod Weddings, New England Weddings, Massachusetts Weddings and Rhode Island Weddings.