Steps to Take If Your Wedding Has Been Impacted by COVID-19

**As featured in the Spring/Summer 2020 issue of MunaLuchi Bride Magazine**
     The new year started off on a high. It was the beginning of a brand new decade that we felt ready for and excited about. We were busting 2020 goals and great things were on the horizon. Then COVID-19 hit the globe.
     COVID-19 brought some very difficult losses with it and life as we knew it, no longer exists. We've even had to re-examine our plans to marry the loves of our lives. We love love and we love helping couples seal their commitment with their unique wedding experiences. So while #loveisnotcancelled, I know that postponing and rescheduling your  wedding is complicated. There are a lot of moving pieces to the puzzle and it can get overwhelming real quick.
     To help you navigate through some of the challenges you're facing while making adjustments to your wedding plans, we've put together 8 tips for you to consider. This is not an exhaustive list, but it's a great starting point. Let us begin:
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1. First, know that it's ok to mourn the loss of your COVID-19 impacted wedding date. If you couldn't get married on your original wedding date, it really is an emotional, mental and in some cases, financial loss. When what you worked so hard to plan and prepare for is taken away, there's a loss that hits you in a powerful way and it stings. It hurts. Take some time to cry, be upset, disappointed, sad and down right angry. Those are all normal responses and you should allow room and time to move through them. Don't feel embarrassed about this. Your feelings are real.

2. Next, if you don't have a Wedding Planner to help you navigate through any of this, please look into investing in one. Seriously. I know that you are pretty awesome with a ton of organizing and planning skills, but there is so much more that an experienced Wedding Planner knows that you don't possess. There are things that immediately come to mind for us because we've done this so many times before and have a breath of experience that is immeasurable and invaluable. We can do this in our sleep because we love it like that and we want to help you. We really do.
 
3. Remember, don't cancel your wedding, work to reschedule or postpone it. Rescheduling might actually save you money. You might not have considered getting married on a Tuesday or Wednesday before COVID-19, but the cost being almost 50% less could make it quite appealing. Rescheduling would also give you time to save more of your own money for your wedding and honeymoon. More money gives you more options. Think about it.
 
4. Note next that whether you're rescheduling, postponing or even cancelling, you should pull out all of your vendor contracts so you can review them to refresh your recollection of what you and your vendor agreed to as it relates to your wedding. Become reacquainted with the terms of your contract, so that when a plan is enacted to speak with your vendors, you're not doing so unfamiliar with your agreement. Prepare for your conversations.
 
5.  Next, you should contact your venue BEFORE your other vendors to see how they are handling rescheduled weddings and what dates are available. DO NOT lock in any dates with your venue until your other wedding vendors have been contacted. You want to make sure that all of your vendors and the venue are available on at least one of the same dates to avoid any cancellation of services.
 
6. After talking with the venue, you or your Wedding Planner should reach out to all of your vendors to inform them that you've decided to postpone or reschedule. Share with them the available date options that the venue provided and see where each vendor lines up. Let each of them know that you are just surveying to see how you can keep your entire vendor team together for a new date. Take great notes so that you can sit back and weigh all of your options. This will be a sizable undertaking so consider getting the help of a Wedding Planner.
 
7. Once a mutually agreeable date for all of your vendors has been determined, circle back to your venue and vendors to let them know what date you've settled on. Don't take too long to get back to everyone because dates are filling up quickly everywhere. If it so happens that one (1) or some of your vendors are unable to reschedule for your new date, have a conversation with them about how you can work out a mutually beneficial arrangement for moving forward.
 
8. Now that your new date has been selected and your amazing wedding vendors are all set, let's send out your invitations with your new date. You can include some fun facts about what you did or gained during the stay at home orders. If you have a wedding website, use that tool to share with your guests that you are committed to keeping them abreast on your journey down the aisle so they should check back regularly.
 
So we know that this is not an easy time and these are not easy tasks, but we are here for you and want to see you get married as well. We love love and we love when #lovewins. So let's win together!