2020 has certainly been a strange year so far. I think when most of us were booking holidays and planning parties etc..., we never could have imagined a global pandemic would get in the way! (I mean, you couldn’t make it up!)
Although it’s been a trying time for everyone, I know it’s been an emotional rollercoaster for couples having to postpone their big day. Wedding planning although exciting, is notoriously stressful as it is, so having covid-19 thrown into the mix isn’t exactly going to help anxiety levels.
So much time, effort and care goes into a wedding, (not to mention the financial side of things), so having to postpone must be heartbreaking. So what are your next steps?
Once you’ve successfully secured a new date (congratulations!) you now need to inform your guests. How you choose to tell them will depend on a couple of things, but here are a few ideas for you:
If you’ve already sent your invitations:
Get in touch with your stationer as soon as you’ve got your new date. I’ve been offering all of my existing couples a free (updated) digital invitation or ‘change the date’ that they can quickly send out to everyone. If you’re one of the tech-savvy couples with a wedding website, you can even keep your guests updated there and include the link on your invite. Most other stationers I know are offering a similar service so reach out to your designer if they haven’t already contacted you.
If you think your guests might appreciate something a little more formal, why not send out some printed ‘change the date’ cards? There are lots of different styles on the market but I’m sure your stationer could help you if you’d like to keep everything consistent. You can see some of mine here, or if you like to DIY, you can download this free printable.
If you haven’t secured a new date yet:
If you know that you’ve got to postpone but haven’t quite got your date secured, you can let your guests know quickly with a digital postponement announcement. You can download mine for free here.
If you’re getting married later in the year and aren’t sure what to do about stationery:
Photo by Natalie Stevenson Photography
This is a tough one, as unless we can see into the future there’s honestly no way of knowing whether your wedding will definitely be going ahead or not. (I’m sure we all wish we had a crystal ball right now!)
As a lot of venues need to postpone weddings chronologically, it’s likely that you’re having to wait until nearer the time to know for sure, which I imagine must be causing lots of anxiety.
If your wedding is going ahead, your venue will have a deadline for when they’ll need final numbers by. So one way or another you’ll be needing to reach out to your guests to get some RSVPs back just in case. You’ve got two options here:
Go digital
If you’re wanting to get something sent out quickly, a digital invite might just do the trick! You may not be able to get anything custom with that option but you could always look into that once everything’s properly confirmed.
Order as normal
If stationery is important to you and you’ve got your heart set on paper invitations then I suggest you reach out to your preferred stationer and discuss options with them. Ask them when the latest print date could potentially be and check to see if they’ll be happy to provide you with a digital update (as mentioned earlier) if you do end up having to postpone.
Photo by Natalie Stevenson Photography / Accessories by Rachel Sokhal Bridal
So there we have it, a couple of options for you to consider - I hope it’s helped!
And finally, I hope you’re all managing to keep safe (and sane) during this time. Brighter days are most definitely ahead!