These 5 tips on planning a wedding during the coronavirus are meant to give all couples tangible ways to deal with their upcoming wedding. Whether it is in a month or in 9 months. I have reached out to a few local Houston experts to get some information that will help you. But before we dig in, take a breath or two. In the end, this is about you having a wonderful marriage. Hopefully this pandemic won’t affect it too much.
1. Cancellations/Postponing will be Complicated
Let’s rip off the bandaid with this one: if your wedding is happening over the next 4 weeks, especially if the guest list is 150 people or more, you might be forced to cull your guest list or postpone it. And then the next bandaid: not all your vendors will be able to postpone to your new date. Which means you are most probably going to be out of pocket. And that sucks!! But at the same time vendors aren’t liable for situations that are out of their control. That being said, I know quite a few vendors who are doing whatever they can to move the date and waiving fees associated with it. So if you need to change your wedding date, approach all your vendors and ask what that would look like, whether you need to be prepared for a postponement fee and if all monies paid so far are lost if they can’t change with you.
2. Consider Getting Wedding + Cancellation Insurance
If your wedding is fall 2020 and beyond, at the moment it looks like it is not in danger. Famous last words, right? That being said, it’s becoming the norm for couples to invest in it because it covers you on many different scenarios, including illness and pandemics. Look for companies that offer liability and property damage insurance as well as cancellation & postponement insurance. The only hitch is that the insurance must be purchase before there is a breakout or named storm. So if you were to get insurance today, it wouldn’t cover coronavirus but it wold cover any future events.
If you are unsure if you really need insurance, I talked with legal expert GBP Law and she recommended people spending upwards of $75k or more on their wedding to invest in insurance. It all comes down to how much the insurance costs and how much you have invested in your day.
3. Book your Favorite Vendors Now
With spring and summer weddings getting postpone, vendors are suddenly looking at a very busy fall and 2021. I know this first hand as I just moved a wedding from April to September this week. If you have been dragging your heels in booking a specific vendor you love, and you have the money, do it now. Specifically, the venue, photographer and planner will get booked very quickly and you might miss out.
To all my spring couples: I have fall dates available and I will work with you on this. I don’t want planning a wedding during the coronavirus pandemic to mark your wedding!
4. Order your Wedding Gown
The word in my wedding circles is that bridal factories that make wedding dresses in China are getting delayed. Which can throw a wrench in getting your gown in on time if you need to order one. But not all is lost, you can buy the gown a year or more in advance or find a local designer. Also, buying a dress or suit off the rack and getting the outfit tailored to you is another viable solution. I know it isn’t the best news to get while planning a wedding during the coronavirus pandemic.
5. Anticipate Guest Cancelations
I have already started to see this at the wedding I covered last week and from what I am hearing from other industry vendors. In fact I am hearing up to half of those who were invited are not attending. Some people will not come because they want to have social distance (which is super smart) or are feeling sick. Although it’s a bit of a dick move if they don’t tell you, which I have heard is also happening.
The other big hurdle is travel, especially by plane. As borders close, it is becoming harder, and honestly unsafe, to travel by plane. If a lot of your guest list needs to fly in for the wedding, this is going to be a tough situation. One of my couples is going through this right now and although we are in a “wait and see” it is being tossed around that they will move their wedding date to the fall.
Lastly, others are going to start getting sick or living with someone who gets sick and hopefully will bow out of attending your wedding. Which sucks, but is the prudent thing to do.
Final Thoughts
This is going to be a tricky time. Honestly the best thing is listen to experts while following your gut. Decisions might be made for you if gatherings over 100 or even 50 are banned for a certain amount of time. I hope that you are still able to have the wedding you were planning, even if it is in a way you didn’t anticipate. But more so I hope you and yours stay safe and healthy during this pandemic. Hopefully these 5 tips on planning a wedding during the coronavirus has helped you. If you need a distraction, my blog has fun sessions and other tips and tricks.
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