Wynter Isabelle

A Wynter Wedding

The effect of COVID -19 on weddings has been astronomical, with thousands of couples up and down the country being forced to postpone their big day.

WRITTEN BY JESS RICKETTS

I have been in this business for 13 years and never experienced this feeling of sadness. My job is normally filled with joy and being a small part of one of the happiest times in a person’s life is magical.

At the start of this when everything was so unknown, I came off calls to my brides in tears as I tried to put myself in their shoes, their weddings just weeks away. If you are thinking about postponing your big day, here are my top tips for a seamless change.

1 Many couples will have wedding insurance; check what your policy covers and where you may be able to claim. This is also important for travel insurance for those honeymoons, hens and stags.

2 Next step is the venue, come up with a new date but ensure you check with the church or registrar before you confirm that they have the time you want the ceremony available. 2021 is going to be the biggest year for weddings ever and many dates have been taken up already.

3 Let your wedding dress shop know. Freight costs of gowns have increased and designers need to know as soon as possible if they don’t need to be rushing the dress through unnecessarily. All dresses of postponed weddings would be in production or completed, so expect an early delivery. Most bridal shops require the balance to be paid upon dress arrival, check your terms.

4 Work through your suppliers, starting with photographers/videographers and florists as they will often only book one wedding per day. Most wedding vendors are bending over backwards to be able to help every couple that needs to change, but you may need to find a new supplier.

5 Let your guests know. Some companies are offering free change the date cards. You can find out this information by joining ‘Wedding Planning with Jess’ on Facebook. A group I have recently set up for all stages of wedding planning, where brides are supporting each other.

Your big day is going to come and it will be worth the wait, I promise! Use this time to perfect the plans, change things that perhaps you felt rushed to make decisions on and remember that after all this is over, your guests will want to celebrate harder and your love will grow stronger from this experience you have shared together.