So you’ve made the tough and necessary decision to postpone, cancel, or Re-scheduled your wedding. While it’s normal to feel bummed with how things turned out, the tough reality is that more things needed to be done to tie things up nicely. Of course, we understand that this might be the last thing you want to do after making the hard choice about your big day, but taking action now can make your life easier once you’ve picked up your plans again. To help you out, we have created a mini checklist that you can use as a guide to making things easier for you.
Step 1: Review your vendor contracts
By tackling your vendor contracts, get rid of the most headache-inducing part of your cancelled or re-scheduled wedding. Review their policies on postponement or cancellation of services and create a simple spreadsheet to put down all their terms so it’s easy for you to review.
See how much you will possibly be liable to pay. Once you have a view of the big picture, do the leg work by contacting each of them and see if there are possible adjustments that you can make which can benefit both sides. For example, ask them if they can still accommodate you on a new date without incurring a full new cost.
Step 2: Create a new plan with your suppliers
Don’t forget to be fair when discussing new terms with your vendors. Remember that these people rely on their businesses for a living and that their operations have also been hit hard by the pandemic. It’s okay to negotiate, but make sure that they are not on the losing end for the adjustments that you will propose.
When it comes to payments, for example, you can offer to pay them a portion of the full price of their services (if they are open to moving the schedule) and settle the remaining once your new plan is finalized. This way, you both win. They get paid now and secure themselves a sure client once everything returns to normal and you get your original team—and hopefully, fewer financial losses.
Step 3: Be open to making adjustments to your plans
Yes, every couple wants to get wed on a weekend when the climate is not too hot or cold, but tough times come with tough adjustments. Imagine all the other lovebirds who also postponed their weddings vying for a good schedule once things have lightened up—it will be a tough competition! As early as now, try to look at other less competitive slots (e.g., weekdays) that you can explore soon. Once you’ve decided, discuss this with your suppliers to check if they can accommodate your new plans.
The same also goes for your guest list. Will some people be unable to come if you do your wedding on a weekday? Should you take out some people from your list? Even after the quarantine is lifted, it might be a better idea to go for a smaller crowd to be on the safe side. Again, make it a point to share your plans with your guests if you’re planning to trim down the list—fingers crossed, they will understand your decision, too.
Step 4: Try exploring a Plan B that you can act on now
Even if some of your negotiations go smoothly, you must prepare yourself for some disappointments. Say your original Memphis wedding photographer cannot accommodate you on another date; you can try to negotiate another way to render their service so you don’t exactly get anything for the price you pay them.
Create your pre-engagement shoot with your beau at home and agree with them to edit the images to make them more professional-looking for a photo album, for example. Tell the wedding guests you took from your list that you will be hosting a separate wedding dinner for them so they are still included in your celebrations. Chances are, people will be willing to help in any way that they can if you talk it out with them properly.
Just because you had to cancel or postpone or re-schedule a wedding doesn’t mean you will not get the special day you deserve. The key is to shift your perspective from being “I’m doomed” to “This is just temporary, and I can use the time to make plans for the future.” While we may have limited control over what we can do now, we have no limit on the things we can arrange now for the future.
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