For every wedding there is always a story you can walk away with. Whether it be the band playing the wrong song, the getaway car taking you to the wrong hotel, or an embarrassing speech at the rehearsal dinner… but never did we ever think that we’d be talking about a global pandemic.
These last few weeks and especially last few days and hours have been a very trying time for all of those in the event, hospitality and travel industries. While most of us operate as small businesses, it has been more than a little stressful - emotionally and financially.
Aside from the anxiety I have regarding how the rest of 2020 will look financially for HBD - I have immense anxiety for our brides and their families. Our mission is to provide our brides with the most seamless process when planning their weddings. We want them to enter with a smile and leave with a bigger smile. Due to the current global health crisis, we have been postponing all weddings and events through the middle of May and are in talks to extend that to the end of May. It truly has been madness! So in doing all of this and trying to care for our brides and be their support system, I’ve gathered a few takeaway tips for anyone going through this process.
1) Make a Plan B even if you think your event or wedding will be unaffected. As of right now, the CDC is recommending all events over 10 people through May 16 be avoided. That being said, we are notifying our end of May and early June brides to start looking at alternate days. We have contacted all of their vendors and asked them to gather available later dates they may have. This way our brides can act fast if the time comes and are forced to move their date. Also, consider if your wedding is the first gathering that many people will be attending post-lock up, will they even want to attend? You’d much rather pick a later date and celebrate without a cloud hanging over your day.
2) Understand your vendors’ cancellation policies. Fortunately, all of the vendors we would recommend to you are reputable vendors with good hearts. However, they are all business people. In the rescheduling process, we are finding that every vendor is allowing a reschedule (even up to 18 months in some cases) without losing any money or paying a date change fee. Nevertheless, all of these vendors held your date for you for MONTHS sometimes even up to a year, and they turned away alternate business. Please respect the deposits you paid and respect their policies on said deposits as well.
3) Try to remain calm and patient. It is easier said than done, but please try! Everyone is panicking, and we (vendors) are all doing our best to communicate in a timely fashion. While each and every wedding is important to us, understand that we are also dealing with many date changes all at once. We love our brides and want the best for them, and trust me, we are doing our best!
4) If you do not want to move your wedding date…If your wedding is close to the cutoff of the social gathering ban, but you choose to stand strong and still have your wedding - be mindful that you may have a lower guest count. Yes, your family and friends still love you and want to celebrate you, but with all of the unknown and fear surrounding this outbreak, they may be hesitant to attend.
Is your wedding in the window that is unaffected by the outbreak? That is great! Here are my tips for you:
Stay informed! Be sure you are up to date on any new regulations put into place by the CDC.
If your wedding is far enough out, consider purchasing (if you haven’t already) event insurance and travel insurance. We work with a fabulous travel agent, Ragan Stone, who can help you with any of this. You may contact her ragan@raganstonetravel.com
Consider adding a spot on your website where you communicate the updates to your wedding guests. If you are one of our brides, we always welcome having our contact information listed so the guests can call us directly with any questions.
On our instagram today we posted for anyone and everyone to submit their questions surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak and how it is effecting their events. Our mission is to love on and help each bride making them feel comfortable to share ideas and confident in their decisions. Here are some questions we received and our answers.
Question: Is it easier to move a wedding or just cancel and get married in front of family?
Answer: This is definitely a case by case situation. It is up to you for what you feel more comfortable doing. I would recommend postponing the wedding and celebrating at a later date. However if the circumstances do not allow you do to that and you need to go ahead and get married, you should have a family only ceremony and then a party later on down the line. If you are one of our clients, our deposit will apply towards the party at a later date.
Question: What is the best way to notify your guests of a date change?
Answer: If you have already mailed your invitations, we suggest contacting the place where you ordered them. All of our preferred vendors for paper are offering a free design with a small print fee if you want to send a date change card. You can also post this design to your social media to alert guests or insert it into an email. All of your family and friends will be understanding! If you have NOT mailed your invitations, we suggest printing an insert with the date change and any other changes to place inside your existing invitation. That way you avoid a re-order fee! If you are one of our brides, of course we help you through this process.
Question: How do you feel about Sunday weddings when most guests are traveling from out of town?
Answer: I much prefer a Friday wedding to a Sunday wedding and this is one of the reasons. For a reschedule you do want to be mindful that this may cause an added expense and inconvenience to your guests. So choosing a Friday wedding allows them days to travel back. For your in town guests, Friday weddings are more appealing as well because people tend to want to lay-low Sunday nights. If you have a big band / late night reception Friday is your best bet. If you choose to reschedule to a Sunday, maybe consider a brunch wedding to allow guests travel time.
Question: Will hotels move room blocks and reservations free of charge?
Answer: In our experience, yes. This is ever changing and new for everyone so be patient with your hotels. But as of now, everyone is being gracious and allowing changes. Hotels are experiencing an extreme downturn in business so they are more likely to keep your reservation than lose out on money.
Question: When should brides start canceling? My wedding is not until June but I am starting to worry!
Answer: If your wedding is in June, as of now you are in the ‘safe zone’. If you have a lot of out of town guests or elderly guests you may want to move to a later date to be safe rather than sorry. We are not encouraging our June brides to reschedule just yet. But refer to our above “planB” section for more info!