Lots of couples have sadly had to change their wedding plans because of Covid. Due to the government’s safety guidelines, postponing, rescheduling and replanning is on the cards for lots of couples! This is a tricky thing to navigate and you might find yourself unsure of where to start.
Our advice is to begin by having open conversations with your key suppliers. Select four or five dates that you’d be willing to postpone to before contacting anybody. Then see if your suppliers are available on any of these dates. These email templates will help you to have open, flexible conversations with those who are bringing your wedding dreams to life!
Be open to the fact that your ideal dates might not suit your dream wedding suppliers. They may suggest other dates, such as weekdays or winter wedding dates (we think both of these are lovely options too!).
Your wedding planner
If you’ve got a wedding planner on your supplier team, this is a great place to start. He or she will have already been in contact with your suppliers throughout your wedding planning journey. Begin here and see what your wedding planner advises.
Hi [Planner’s Name]
We hope you are safe and well! With the government’s guidelines for staying safe during Covid, we are now interested in postponing our wedding which was set to take place on [Original date]. I have some questions for you about what to do next:
- Is there a time of year you would recommend postponing to? We have a few dates in mind, but we would love your guidance and expertise: [Put new dates here].
- Should we keep in mind any costs associated with postponing? Things like non-refundable deposits or fees for changing dates? Could you please send over your current cancellation and postponement policy?
- Would a date change result in any changes to your services? Will we need to sign a new contract because of this?
- Are you available on my new date or will I be in contact with somebody else from your team?
- If we decide to proceed with postponing our wedding, could you suggest the best way to communicate this with our guests?
- What are our next steps for postponing? Who would you suggest we speak to first in our supplier team?
Thank you for your advice and for everything you do!
[Put your names here]
Your wedding venue
Securing your new date with your wedding venue is incredibly important. This is where you should direct your attention next.
Hi [Venue Co-ordinator],
We hope you are safe and well. With the government’s guidelines for staying safe during Covid, we are now interested in postponing our wedding which was set to take place on [Original date]. I have some questions for you about what to do next:
- We have a few dates in mind that we would love to postpone to. They are: [Include a selection of dates. Your venue might suggest alternatives like midweek dates]. Do you have availability on any of these dates?
- Could we please agree on a specific deadline by which we should have our new date confirmed?
- Could you please send us your current cancellation and postponement policy?
- If we decide to postpone, will we be required to sign a new contract?
- Should we keep in mind any costs associated with changing our date? Things like non-transferable deposits or other fees?
- Will you still be our point of contact or will we be working with someone else on your team?
- If our new date falls in a new season, will our current menu remain the same or will we be able to have another tasting?
Thank you for your advice and for everything you do!
[Put your names here]
Other wedding suppliers
Once you’ve spoken with your wedding planner and venue, it’s time to contact everybody else. Each supplier’s services will be different, so your email to each of them will be different. We recommend taking a proactive response and having an open conversation with your supplier team.
Dear [Supplier name],
We hope you are safe and well. With the government’s guidelines for staying safe during Covid, we have decided to postpone our wedding which was set to take place on [Original date]. I have some questions for you about what to do next:
- We are working with our wedding planner and venue to select a new date. Currently, these are the dates we are looking at: [Insert all dates that you and your venue are discussing]. Do you have availability on any of these dates?
- If you are available on our new date, will our current deposit be carried over to that date? Will you be able to apply funds already paid to our future wedding date?
- Should we keep in mind any costs associated with changing our wedding date? Non-refundable deposits or any other fees?
- If my new date falls on a high-peak day, will there be any additional charges I should keep in mind? (For example, flowers often cost a lot more on peak days such as Valentine’s Day)
We would like to align our new dates with all our suppliers and then begin to communicate with our families and friends. Could you please advise us on the next steps and how we can take it from here?
Thanks so much,
[Insert your names here]
Your guests
Because of the volume of communication and the amount of people you need to speak with, it’s completely ok to send a mass email to all your guests (don’t forget to hit BCC!). Even if you haven’t settled on a new wedding date, here’s what you can do to keep your guests in the loop:
Dear [Name/s],
Due to the current global pandemic, we would like to inform you that our wedding will regrettably not take place on [original date] as we had planned.
As soon as we have a new wedding date, we will let you know. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause! We can’t wait to celebrate with you at a later stage.
[Add your wedding website here if you’ve got one!]
Please keep safe and well!
[Your names]