COVID-19 and Your Wedding : What You Can Do

Times are tough, my friends. For everyone.

We are ALL emotionally, mentally, and financially hurting right now. I know that you must be having so many emotions if you have planned a 2020 wedding. I truly feel for you. I’ve been in contact with a number of my couples and everyone is feeling the same things: restless, stressed, sad, and anxious about the unknown.

You’re allowed to feel this way. It’s not selfish. This all sucks. You’ve been planning this momentous event for perhaps over a year and a half. It’s important for you to know that all of your feelings are valid. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

While I can’t tell you when this will all be over, here are some tips to help you be proactive and feel like you have a little bit of control in all this.

It’s hard to know what to do in this situation. The current trend seems to be making a call 60 days before your original wedding date, and you shouldn’t be pressured into changing it if you’re not ready. However, if you think there is a chance you may not be able to go through with your scheduled date, it is better to decide sooner than later. 

2021 is already looking like a busy year for weddings, and now many 2020 dates are being rescheduled to 2021. If you were already planning a 2021 wedding but have not booked your venue, I recommend doing that as soon as possible. If you are thinking about rescheduling your April, May or even June 2020 wedding, then you should move on it quickly as well. The longer you wait, the fewer options you will have. If you have many guests coming from out of province or out of country, you may also want to consider this factor.

It is likely that you may end up with a Friday or Sunday date, BUT Friday and Sunday weddings are AWESOME! Please don’t get discouraged if that happens to you. You will have many more options available to you if you’re open to non-Saturdays - plus if you have a Friday wedding then you have two whole days to recover ;)

What to do if you have a spring 2020 wedding planned

1. This is hard…but try not to panic! Please know that your vendors want the best for you! We ALL want to make sure your wedding is amazing. We know weddings and we know how important they are. We are honoured you’ve chosen us to help make your day special, and this will still be the case, no matter when your wedding takes place!

2. Continue to stay healthy by practicing social distancing and hand washing! If your wedding is in mid-summer, it is possible we may be in the clear for events. But in order to get there, we’ll need to do our best as a community and take this virus seriously.

3. Do you have wedding insurance? Call and see what is covered and what they can do for you.

4. Contact your venue and check your cancellation and rescheduling policy on your contract. Your venue may even contact you to request your date be moved. 

5. Contact your vendors and discuss possible rescheduling options. Many, myself included, will honour the contract on an agreed upon rescheduled date with no additional fees. It is important to note that every vendor and photographer is different, and this won’t always be possible.

6. Try and find a new date that accommodates as many of your vendors as you can. You may want to prioritize your new choice of date on vendors that can only take one wedding a day: such as your venue, photographer, videographer, or DJ. Some services have a team of people or more options for replacing staff. Smaller businesses with only a few people will have less dates available. You may also want to take into account how large your vendor deposits were, and if they are refundable to any degree.

7. If a vendor is unable to work your new date, find out what the next steps are. Most vendor services require a retainer to book your date. The retainer also covers any services already rendered, which can include engagement shoots or time spent creating the timeline of your day, realizing your vision, and determining your needs for florals, music or photography. 

What If my vendor Is unavailable for my new date?

Check your contracts! Retainers are generally non-refundable, especially within a short timeframe (including mine). However, this is a special circumstance, so it is worth discussing your options.

The following options are likely:

1. Your vendor may not be in a position to return your retainer. 

If you signed a contract, they probably don’t legally have to. If a vendor tells you they cannot refund your retainer, please believe me - nobody is trying to make money off anyone’s misfortune. This situation right now is unprecedented, and we know how hard it is for couples scrambling to re-organize their weddings. Most vendors want to do right by their clients, but unfortunately, most people in the industry are small or solo businesses and they have already taken a huge financial hit by this.

Spring is when most vendors begin bringing income after a quiet winter season. With no income expected for many vendors for the next couple of months, many of your vendors will simply not be able to give you this money back, even if they want to. For every rescheduled date, it’s also another date that they can’t take a new booking for. Nobody is trying to be mean, but everyone has to feed their families. The options for E.I. and solo businesses are still limited and not available to everyone depending on their circumstance.

2. Your vendor may offer you a full or partial refund on your retainer. If you have a vendor that is unable to reschedule and they return any or all of your retainer, be thankful to them! That’s amazing! They will appreciate your thankfulness and it’ll make it more worth it for them. Recommend them to others to reward them for their kindness! Referrals go a long way.

3. Your vendor may suggest you put the retainer towards other future services. Ask if it’s possible to get an alternative service worth the value of your retainer. For example, maybe your makeup artist can do your makeup for another special event in the future. 

4. Your vendor may find a replacement for their services. For example, if I am already booked for your date, I might suggest an associate photographer to go in my place. In this case, I would still edit your photos, and the balance owing could be negotiated depending on the replacement photographer. 

I have seen some posts in wedding groups talking about making lists of vendors who can’t refund retainers, saying they should be blackmailed and that they are unethical and cruel. This is simply not true. This situation is just awful for everyone involved. We know this and want to support you, but just like everyone else, vendors are trying to make sure they survive this. Of course it’s not really fair, but none of it is. I completely see both sides, nobody wants to lose money.

What I’m doing

Social distancing, and very seriously! In the past three weeks, I’ve been at home or at my studio (to work alone).

I’ve also been very diligently washing my hands! The last thing I’d ever want is to be sick and pass it to somebody else, especially a client. For this reason, I am not currently booking any shoots in April or May, and booked anything in the future will be considered tentative based on government health recommendations.

Regarding retainers

Right now, I am rescheduling weddings as needed and putting the retainer toward the new date with no rescheduling fees. All retainers will be honoured.

If you think you may have to reschedule your wedding, please reach out as soon as you know so we can discuss availability and options to move forward. The sooner you do so, the more dates I will still have available for rescheduling. I truly love my clients and excited to work with all of you and really hope I can still do that, so I will do whatever I can to make that happen.

I will be offering a combination of the last three options listed above if I am unavailable for your new date.

If you want to continue with your wedding

As of March 28, Ontario has banned all social gatherings of more than five people, so weddings scheduled to take place during this ban cannot proceed as planned. In British Columbia, gatherings of more than 50 people have been banned since March 16th, and it is highly recommended that no gatherings take place. If you want to modify your wedding to fit these restrictions, let me know. Elopements are awesome! But please be aware: if you, your partner, or anyone else involved present symptoms of COVID-19 and you choose to still proceed with your wedding, I reserve the right to cancel our contract with no refunds. But for everyone’s safety… just don’t do that! Just be safe and don’t be silly, that’s all! 

New Bookings & payments

I am currently accepting reduced rates for retainers to help alleviate some of the financial burdens on new clients. I am also accepting alternative payment plans if they are easier for you, instead of my usual lump sums. My goal throughout this stressful time is to help alleviate as much stress on you as I can.

If you need to vent, vent to me. If you need help finding a new vendor because one of them can’t do your new date, let me know and I can send you recommendations. 

If you need to reschedule, I’m going to make it as easy as I can for you to do so. Talk to me. We’ll figure it out. 

We’re all in this together <3

On that note,

Stay safe! Practice social distancing! Take this seriously! Check in with your friends and neighbours! And wash your damn hands.