Coronavirus Stole The Show

“This is going to be our year,” we told each other, snuggled on the couch with our French Bulldog and a big ole’ bag of Taco Bell as we watched the ball drop on New Year’s Eve. Afterall, it was supposed to be. Even today, as I write this, I’m not quite sure what the future holds. You see, for the past two and a half years, our wedding has been planned for June 7th, 2020. Now? Thanks to the Coronavirus, we’re not quite sure.

Throughout the past couple of months spent questioning our every plan, we’ve bonded closely with our brides and grooms in the same position – we’ve laughed over how crazy our luck is (couldn’t we have just won the lottery instead?), we’ve cried over losing the dreams our worlds have centered for the past months and years, and we’ve panicked over packing in years worth of planning into weeks, or even days. Friends . . . this really hasn’t been easy.

So, as I sit here wondering what the future of our own wedding holds, I want to share with you a handful of steps we’ve guided our own couples with during this confusing season.

Here are 5 Steps to Postponing

1. Contact your venue. The first step is knowing what your contract says in regards to any situation similar to this one (if it says anything at all), and contacting your venue to let them know that you are needing to postpone your big day. If there is a specific season or day of the week you are wishing for, it’s absolutely okay and encouraged to let them know your preferences! Remember that availability may be limited, but always share your ideal priorities so that everyone is on the same page with continuing on with your dream day!

2. It’s not the best year to be a New Jersey bride – there’s no denying that – but it is a great time to be working with amazing New Jersey wedding vendors who are there to support you during all of the planning and re-planning COVID-19 has caused us brides. Step 2 would be to reach out to each vendor (a copy & paste template is totally acceptable!) with a list of the available dates your venue has supplied you with. Asking your vendors to return with their OWN lists of which of those dates work for them, will narrow down the potential dates that work for you, your venue, and your vendors.

3. Confirm availability with your close family and bridal party – my Maid of Honor has a Hawaiian vacation planned in August, so we wanted to be sure that our backup date wouldn’t mean not having her with us. Before locking in your new date, you’ll want to make sure that in addition to your vendors, the most important people in your life will be able to make it.

4. Make small adjustments to your new season! If you were planning on a spring wedding with dusty blue bridesmaids dresses with pink peony bouquets, but are now saying ‘I do’ in October, there’s no need to email Azazie about new dresses! Make small adjustments to match your new theme – those peony bouquets can be easily swapped out for anemone flowers. Afterall, the florist hasn’t made the bouquets yet! Small changes that don’t result in spending new money are the best route for replanning your special day.

5. Don’t let go of the date-custom decorations and stationary you already have! Those details are part of your story. We can still take photos of the date-engraved ring box and you’ll look back at it, remembering all that you overcame together on the journey to being husband and wife. Pro Tip – if you splurged on the custom invitations for dreamy flatlays, ask your designer if you can buy just one more print with the new date edited in instead!

It would be unrealistic to tell you that this otherwise glowing time in life isn’t feeling glum – some days we feel hopeful, and some days we just want to wallow in misery. But we’re all in this together, and even more importantly, we are here to support and love our couples going through this with us – we’re your vendors for a celebration, and your friends for life.