Planning a wedding can be one of the most stressful times of your life. There are vendors to coordinate, invitations to mail, and songs to pick for your special dances. But what happens when a global pandemic completely shuts down your plans?

If you are one of the thousands of 2020 displaced couples, you’re probably wondering what you should do next. While we can’t undo the unruly mess that 2020 has wreaked on wedding planning, we can offer some sound advice to steering your plans back on track.

Breathe

Before you call your florist, before you start canceling flights, and before you allow yourself to have that much-needed breakdown, take a moment to be in control of your breath and exhale deeply. Go for a jog, login to an online yoga class, or maybe watch an episode of The Office. Do something that centers you and keeps life somewhat normal before diving into the chaos of re-assembling your wedding. Whatever you do, don’t forget to breathe. Ready? Now let’s grab some coffee, a calendar, your favorite pen, and get ready to make some phone calls.

Inform your family and your wedding party

In some instances, this might be the most uncomfortable conversation you will have as you begin the process of moving your wedding date. There is sure to be some disappointment from all parties involved and let’s face it, no one likes to have their plans changed. While you should definitely call your immediate family, you might save some time and stress by group messaging your wedding party. A BCC email or other electronic messaging app is a great way to send a mass communication. You may want to avoid a group text, however, as they can create a lot of stress notifications and you definitely do not have time for that at the moment. While you will want to wait until you have a new date before informing the majority of your guests, it might be a good idea to reach out to any who are planning to travel a long distance, especially international guests. You don’t have to have answers to all of their questions yet. Just a simple heads up that plans are going to change and to stand by for more information.

The Venue

before you notify your vendors or even your guests (you should probably tell your mom though) the first business phone call you are going to want to make will be with your venue, both ceremony as well as reception. Most wedding venues are booked years in advance and are currently in the same boat as you, frantically trying to plan for an unknown future. At this point, most venues are looking into the fall of 2020 at the earliest and are likely to recommend 2021 as an alternative. Many venues offer Fridays and Sundays as viable options as well. Given that your venue has likely been booked at least 18 months in advance, a non-Saturday wedding date might be your best chance for rescheduling over a weekend of your choice.

Vendors

Now things are going to get complicated. Keep in mind as you call your vendors they have likely already anticipated your circumstances. Be sure to have a copy of your contract on hand before you call. Unfortunately, nothing can guarantee that your first choice vendors will be available for the rescheduled wedding date. Be sure to ask for recommendations in the event that your vendor is unavailable. Industry referrals are always the best route to go when searching for an alternative provider. No doubt by now you have built a rapport with your vendors and chances are they will be able to recommend an alternative to fit your needs. This will likely be one of the most disappointing phases of your rebuilding process but try not to dwell on it more than necessary. While your wedding day may not look like what you initially had in mind it will still be a very special occasion and one that you and your spouse will tell stories about for years to come.

Notify your guests

Once you have established an alternative wedding date and locked in the venue it’s time to notify your guests. Depending on the age and tech-savviness of your guests, you do have a few options. Email or another form of electronic messaging will be the quickest and most efficient way to notify your guests that plans have changed. If you have a large number of senior attendees who aren’t frequent email users, a call list might be in order. It can be an intimidating task to look at a long list of names knowing you will have to make several uncomfortable phone calls. Don’t do this alone. Involve your fiancé, parents, future in-laws, and even your wedding party. If you have secured a block of rooms at a hotel be sure to have the phone number handy to pass along. If you and your fiancé have a wedding webpage be sure to update it as soon as possible with the alternative date.

Be flexible

As you move dates, vendors, and guests be prepared to keep everything in flux. At this writing, most of the country is currently still under some form of quarantine and many states have a shelter in place order with multiple extensions. It is quite possible that if you were to lock in a date for the fall you very well could find yourself in the same predicament of moving your wedding again in five months. It is important to prepare yourself mentally as you face an ever-changing world. If there is a bright side to any of this it’s that right now the entire world is facing this together for the first time. This is uncharted territory for the entire wedding service industry. Most venues and vendors are going to be more than willing to get creative to get your wedding back on track.

We can help!

Over the last two months Fun DMC has helped several couples reschedule their wedding dates due to COVID-19. If you are facing a cancellation, trying to decide if you should, or if you were recently engaged don’t hesitate to reach out to us today. We have the network and the resources to help you put it all back together.