Wow what a crazy few days in the history of the world. If you’re reading this, no doubt your wedding plans have been turned upside down and you are trying to come up with a plan b.
I’m no expert in Covid19 so I certainly have no idea when this will end. I know as much as you and that we are in a crisis and that means that businesses have had to shut up shop and restrictions have been put in place. The restrictions mean that any indoor gathering of over 100 guests has to be cancelled and that pubs, including hotel bars have to be closed in order to protect the spread of this virus. The time stamp has originally been set to 29th of March but the likelihood is that will be extended.
We don’t know how long this will go on for but venues that I have spoken with are gearing up to resume service in June or July but some are not as optimistic and expect some restrictions to still be in place throughout the year.
If you have a small wedding (less than 100 guests) booked, you should be fine but will have to take the necessary social distancing rules. You may also have to still consider if anyone you invite is considered vulnerable and they may not be able to attend.
Where Does That Leave You?
So more than likely if you are getting married between now and the end of May, your venue has been in touch and offered a postponement option. Postponement is not the same as cancelling. You may be getting married in the summer and could be fine but I know some are pushing out by a few months so that they don’t have that down to the wire stress, which is understandable.
Cancelling is deciding to not get married at all and withdrawing all plans. Postponing is intending to still get married but at a later date.
If you have wedding and travel insurance, you will need to check your policy to see what is covered.
What Do You Do Now?
I’m sure the last thing you ever thought you would be doing is having to put an extra pair of wedding planning boots on.
I have created a wedding postponement checklist – DOWNLOAD HERE.
Check In:
You will need to check in with your venue and ceremony (Church, Celebrant, Humanist, Registrar). You will check in to see what their stance is, will they be still be able to host your wedding at the date originally intended or will you need to check alternative dates. Check your insurance policy if you purchased it and see where you stand in terms of any financial claims. If you bought insurance pre 10th March you should be covered. You can claim for additional costs you incurred such as getting new stationary printed as the date changed or if you can’t get a vendor to align the new date you have and lose that deposit. Some policies cover the extra cost if you have to go for a more expensive date too but you will need to check your policy. Your travel insurance should cover you for your honeymoon.
Change Date:
For so many, there may be a limit on the weekend dates available and I would strongly consider looking at midweek dates. Once you know where you stand venue and ceremony wise, you will then need to check in with each of your suppliers. Some suppliers may already have bookings for weekend dates later in the year so you will need to work some magic to try and get everyone aligned.
Another good reason to try for midweek!
If you can, please try and stay within 2020 and support your wedding suppliers. If they lose their bookings they may not be able to stay in business until 2021. Of course this is your big day but where you can support, please do.
You will need to update the state of a date change too. You can email the registrar at birthsdeaths.marriages@hse.ie – be mindful that it may take some time to respond to you as they too will be down team members and will be hearing from every couple in the country!
Check Cost Implications:
You will need to check if there are any implications to your current costs. If were on a Saturday in June and move to a midweek September date, will that bring your price down? Will your minimum numbers change? If you move from a lower value date, i.e March weekend to a September weekend, will your costs go up? The majority of venues and suppliers are holding current packages for those who have to move, this is great news.
Honeymoon:
When it comes to your honeymoon, this is really tricky as every location, airline, hotel may have their own differing policies so if you have used a travel agent, you will need to get in touch to see what your options are. If you booked certain tropical destinations, your new date might mean that it is rain season and you might want to plan for another destination. This might be slightly more complicated but your travel agent will help you through.
Guests:
Once you’ve made a plan and have the date set with other suppliers, you are pretty much good to go. You can send your ‘Change of Date’ details. You can simply send a text of you can get some lovely change of date stationary to post out.
Either way, you will get married, everything will be fine and your wedding will mean so much more as more than likely it will be the first regathering of your family and friends which will be so so lovely when we can finally come out of this isolation!
For more up to date information on the Covid 19 affects – tune in to my Instagram stories.
Good luck XX
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