What to do now - COVID-19 and your wedding
As of April 23, 2020, Alberta extended the order limiting gatherings to 15 people for the summer
To all couples getting married in 2020, I am so sorry you are going through this. You have likely spent over 200 hours planning your wedding, and COVID-19 has thrown a curveball and we are all reacting to. Alberta put in limitations for social gatherings in March, that changed every couple of days changing it from a maximum of 200 people, to 50, to 15. Now, what do you do that the order is extended through the summer?
I believe we were all hopeful that some restrictions were going to be lifted for the summer, that we could move forward with events and celebrate together. But after the update from Dr. Deena Hinshaw and the Province on April 23, 2020, the order is being extended through the summer.
When I was scrolling through my Facebook feed this morning, Shadow from Prairie Stone Catering made some great points, so I am going to piggyback off of what she said. She and her husband had to reschedule their date TWICE in 2018. They lost money, their wedding date, vendors, venue, and the fact that some family and friends couldn’t make it because of prior commitments.
Not going to sugarcoat this situation, it is friggen awful. It is so disappointing and stressful.
I know this may not be the way you want to look at it… I think if I was a bride planning and looking forward to getting married… I would be incredibly upset at “trying to look at the bright side” but you have control over a few things… when everything else seems like it is out of your control.
1.You have more time to save money.
Not what I would want to hear either, honestly. Money is not a fun topic to chat about, ever. But planning a wedding is a huge financial commitment, and this gives you more time to save money. If either of your jobs has been affected, this may be a bit of a relief.
2. You have more time to plan.
You know that huge to-do list that always seemed like you would cross one thing off, and then two things suddenly appeared? The blog posts you read, and all the things you “should do for your wedding”, you now have more time. Which leads to my next point.
3. This may put the important things into perspective.
Maybe some of those “should do for your wedding” things are not that important, and all you really want is to have your closest family and friends together to celebrate your marriage. Maybe you don’t need to stress about how big the centerpieces are going to be, or that you want a certain charger plate/napkin fold/table or aisle runner, etc.
So now… what are your options?
I believe we were all hopeful that some restrictions were going to be lifted for the summer, that we could move forward with events and celebrate together.
Reschedule Your Wedding Date
The first option, and maybe the safest, is to reschedule your wedding date to 2021. I know that is the last option you likely want to consider. With the average wedding costs around $25,000, it doesn’t seem like the most economical idea to spend $25K to celebrate with 10 or 15 people?
You have been counting down to your 2020 wedding date from the minute you two set the date and booked the venue (or maybe before the ring was even on your finger). Maybe you already had to reschedule for later this year and are now being forced to postpone again.
From the bottom of my heart, I am sad and sorry you are going through this.
For most vendors, rescheduling will keep your deposit and just transfer it to a new date. Some vendors may charge a fee to change dates, I am not. If you cancel with your vendors, you will likely lose your deposit.
Elope
When you were already counting down the days to your wedding day, and now it might be ANOTHER 15 months away, you may want to say your “I do’s” a whole lot sooner than the date options that are presented.
If you elope, you can still have 15 people, which includes the officiant, yourselves, witnesses, and your photographer, as long as you are abiding by the physical/social distancing rules of 6 feet apart. You can have 11 people in attendance when you don’t count yourselves, officiant, and photographer.
If you elope, you are still legally married, and you can celebrate with family and friends when it is safe to do so.
Maybe you plan your elopement in your backyard, the mountains, a flower farm, or at your venue as planned, but with a lot fewer people in attendance.
Now, I don’t know if some venues are offering shorter bookings for multiple elopements in one weekend or not and what the prices are if that is the case. But it may be a way to have a beautiful location, get married and save some money.
I am sorry and sad that you have to go through this.
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This is hard to go through, and I don’t know what else to say other than, I am sorry you have to go through this. I wish this wasn’t the situation in 2020. Here we thought a new decade would bring so many great things, we aren’t off to a great start.
If you have any questions, need help with how to move forward, looking for new vendors or anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can email me or fill out the contact tab. Yes I am a wedding photographer, yes we offer a photo booth, but I am here as a wedding expert and a friend.
xo,
Katlyn