What to do when the coronavirus crisis delays your wedding

If your wedding date is not imminent, you may still have time to buy wedding insurance. Just be sure to read the fine print. Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto/Biggunsband
Couples are often told to prepare for anything when it comes to their wedding, but a global pandemic isn’t typically something to consider.
Now that most Americans have been ordered to stay at home and avoid nonessential travel to slow the spread of the coronavirus, many couples have had to abruptly postpone their special day, while many others are in limbo, unsure of how to proceed.
“Postponing our wedding has opened up an entire different category of stress that I didn’t know was possible,” says Allison Hayes, a newly unemployed hairstylist in Ohio who delayed her May wedding.
“We’ve never seen such major sweeping postponements in the wedding industry,” says Renée Dalo, owner and lead wedding planner of Moxie Bright Events in Los Angeles.
In addition to the logistical headache of moving a tightly coordinated event at the eleventh hour, there are also potential financial implications for couples.
Here are a few things to keep in mind if you and your partner are in a similar predicament.
LOOK FOR WAYS TO PARE BACK
If the pandemic has had an impact on your wages, the wedding will likely need to take a back seat to more pressing needs.
If your job has been affected, take steps to get control of your finances. Your bills should take priority over wedding plans. Dalo suggests contacting vendors directly to see if you can split up payments moving forward.
“If a client came to me asking to make smaller, more spread-out payments, I would be 100% on board with that,” she says.
Regardless of your current job situation, it’s a good time to re-evaluate wedding costs that haven’t already been paid and see where you could scale back, if necessary. Hayes now plans to cut back on decorations, for example.
“I was financially confident at the beginning of wedding planning, but I work in freelance and have lost a lot of opportunities,” says Katy Colloton, an actress and screenwriter in Los Angeles. Colloton says she was originally planning to “go all-out” with things like table favors, bridal party gifts and welcome bags, but will adjust her approach if the job market doesn't pick up soon.
CONTACT YOUR VENUE
Vendors, planners and couples all agree that if you’re in the process of postponing, your first call or email should be to the venue.
“Get in contact with the venue first since that is the biggest investment, then get in touch with vendors to see how everything aligns,” says Laura Yap, who runs a floral business in Austin, Texas.
Next, prioritize your vendors. While many vendors are trying to be flexible, the reality is that they may not all be available on your new date, especially as more weddings are rescheduled for fall and winter.
“We have paid nonrefundable deposits for all of our vendors, and the most stressful part is trying to either line all of them up or choose which ones to take a loss with and potentially hire someone else,” Hayes says.
Delia Turner, a criminal attorney in Missouri, wasn’t able to keep her photographer and hair and makeup artist. “The photographer is a good friend of mine, but she wasn’t available. She will subcontract someone for me. I also lost a $100 deposit on a hair and makeup artist.”
As you begin the postponement process, prioritize the vendors that matter the most to you as you work with your venue to find a new date. Cost could be a factor — replacing a videographer will likely be more expensive than finding a new hair and makeup artist — but also keep in mind that your vendors are dealing with personal and professional upheaval now, too.
“Remember that everyone is human. Small-business owners have already invested so much work, and half of that work is administrative,” says Yap, who is temporarily pivoting to weekly flower deliveries to maintain a positive cash flow. “Spring is my largest season. I had ramped up with staffing and invested time into planning, so I’m figuring out how to make that all work.”
CHECK OUT WEDDING INSURANCE
If your wedding is several weeks or months away, you may have time to get wedding insurance. There are two main types of coverage, liability insurance and cancellation or postponement coverage, and you can get one or both. Some venues already require liability insurance, but Dalo recommends taking the extra step of getting cancellation insurance as well.
However, be sure to read the fine print and consult your insurance provider. Whether cancellation coverage will reimburse events postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak may depend on local restrictions.
“One of my client’s cancellation coverage kicked in once the shelter-in-place order became mandatory. A recommendation from the local government wouldn’t cover it, but a mandate did,” she says.
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