How to Deal with the Stresses of Wedding Planning in the Midst of COVID-19 Orders
Weddings are traditionally lavish events, staged by bride and groom with no expense spared. The industry is worth around $74 billion, and is one of the most reliable industries for surviving economic crises. After 9/11 and the recession of 2008, patrons learned to get creative with their event planning. They were flexible with less popular days of the week and more budget conscious. However, even though finances were initially less of an issue this go-round, it’s a waiting game that makes it challenging for both patrons and event planners.
The coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19, has meant that thousands of couples across the world are having to postpone their big days. Stay-at-home orders and social distancing measures are in place across the USA and many other countries. Naturally, this prohibits weddings, since they typically consist of a large gathering of people.
With celebrations temporarily on hold, couples are having to make the decision to either postpone or cancel their wedding plans entirely. Since planning a wedding can take the best part of a year, many couples have spent months on the process only to be thrown into uncertainty by COVID-19.
Postponement is the natural option - most couples will still want to have their weddings once the pandemic is all over. This means that some degree of planning can remain intact for a later date. However, some couples are deciding not to wait at all.
Continue Planning Your Wedding
It is understandably stressful and upsetting if you have spent months planning your perfect wedding, only for it to have been put on hold indefinitely. The most important thing to remember at this time is that you will still be marrying the love of your life and it will still be a day you’ll never forget. Perhaps it will have to happen at an unfavorable time of year, or with fewer guests than you planned, but it will come to fruition, nonetheless.
Here are some of the things you should be doing right away:
● Contact your wedding planner and/or venue manager. They will be able to offer you some comfort by relaying your options. By now, most venues will have COVID-19 strategies in place, and are receptive to a postponement.
● Inform your guests of your change of plans. This might seem obvious to you, but people do have different levels of awareness about the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic. You might still have some family or friends who expect to attend your spring wedding - let them know that it has been postponed until a later date! Things get a little more complicated if your guests had to make long-distance travel plans for your wedding - try to give at least four months’ notice ahead of the postponed ceremony.
● Try to build a relationship with your wedding planner. Exchange texts and emails during this difficult period, and they might be able to provide you with some wedding-related questionnaires and activities to think about while you are self-isolating.
● Beware of wedding insurance policies. Some unscrupulous insurance companies are looking to avoid any COVID-19 related payouts by including clauses that circumvent any complications caused by the pandemic. So, before you take out any wedding insurance for your upcoming event, be sure that you won’t be fleeced later down the line. On the subject of insurance, CFAR (cancel for any reason) insurance could be a safe bet for couples with weddings or honeymoons planned abroad.
● If you have your hearts set on your original wedding date, you can hold a local ceremony that adheres to social distancing and CDC guidelines. As long as you don’t mind foregoing an event with plenty of guests and close contact, you could look into the possibilities of holding a very small (or even virtual) wedding before mandates are lifted.
Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Since most people are working from home, connecting virtually, and online, there have been several digital resources made available. One resource is Reddit, that has a subreddit for wedding planning. Check out r/weddingplanning for countless threads and posts created by other people in your situation.
For the 125,000 subscribers to this particular subreddit, life has changed from a stream of wedding dress decisions to chaotic posts about the coronavirus. From terminally ill family members no longer able to attend a spring wedding, to stories of people losing vast amounts of money due to cancelled weddings, a supportive online community is more important than ever.
Fortunately, the moderators of this subreddit have separated coronavirus related posts into their own threads. This keeps other sections of the subreddit free for more positive chat about continuing with wedding plans, and looking forward to the happy day.
This is the ultimate message for couples which have had their wedding affected by COVID-19: Your wedding day still belongs to you and there are great alternatives to simply waiting for the pandemic to end.
