THE EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
HERE’S EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW about Combating COVID-19 and Postponing Your Wedding
W as your wedding crashed by an uninvited guest—COVID-19? Social distancing has forced thousands of couples to alter their plans. If you’re a couple faced with the upsetting decision to postpone your wedding, WV Weddings magazine editor Nikki Bowman Mills answers your most pressing questions. What are my first steps? 1. If you have a wedding planner or venue coordinator, reach out to them. This is when you’ll be so grateful to have engaged their services. They will reach out to your key vendors and walk you through a plan of action. 2. If you don’t have an event planner, contact your venue first. Look at available dates—probably late fall or winter. Also consider non-traditional dates like Sundays or Fridays. And don’t rule out Thursdays. By the time social distancing is over, everyone will be ready for a little getaway and, depending on your venue, guests might be excited for a long weekend getaway. Choose a couple of dates so that you can coordinate with your remaining wedding vendors. Use our free Change of Date Tracker, available here: wvweddingsmagazine.com/ultimate-wedding- toolkit
It’s time to get everyone’s calendars out! I recommend looking at late fall and winter dates. But also consider non-traditional dates.You’ll probably save some money by booking non- traditional dates, and you’ll definitely run into less scheduling conflicts. Should I scale down? Uninvite people? How do I notify guests? This is a deeply personal decision. Weddings are expensive. Times are uncertain, so it is completely reasonable to reevaluate your guest list if you haven’t already sent out invitations. If you’ve sent out invitations and your adjustments mandate downsizing, then I advise making a sweeping change—not just crossing off a few people here and there and risking offending your friends and family. You could notify guests that you are changing your date and, due to the circumstances, you are only inviting immediate family members and your wedding party. You can have a bigger reception and party later and invite all of your original guests. If you do something like this, you’ll want to book your photographer as well for your future celebratory party—and yes, you’ll most likely pay extra for that. I’ve already printed my invitations, but not mailed them. Now what? For couples who have printed
3. If you were planning a tented wedding on your own property, reach out to your tent provider. If you are moving to a cooler time of the year, you may need to add sides to the tent and outdoor heaters. Make those adjustments now. 4. Once you have a few date options, check that your photographer is available. 5. Now reach back out to your venue and let them know exactly which date you’ve chosen. 6. Next, contact your band or DJ, videographer, florist, rental company, cake designer, and all other vendors. Do you have a room block? Contact the hotel to change the date. Use our tracker to track their responses to your date change. 7. Have you already planned your honeymoon? Then don’t forget about rescheduling your plans! 8. Now it’s time to notify your guests of the change of date. If your invitations have not been printed yet, stop the presses. If they have, you can send a change-of-date card with any additional information needed. Download a free customizable postponement notification designed by Paper Hearts, available here: wvweddingsmagazine.com/ heres-everything-you-need-to-know. And given the circumstances, an emailed change of date card is perfectly acceptable. How do you recommend couples go about picking a new wedding date?
18 | WV WEDDINGS Spring/Summer 2020
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