Covid-19 is continuing to impact the wedding and event world as social gatherings are still limited in most areas and no one can foresee when these restrictions will be lifted. I have been posting Coronavirus updates here on the blog to keep everyone informed on the current status, and with that, I have also posted guides for couples who are looking to elope or couples looking to postpone so everyone has the tools to navigate their future plans. But what if your wedding is planned for 2020 and you want to keep your date as is?
Confirm your wedding date is still on with your venue. If you don’t have a space you don’t have a wedding. Just like when you booked them the first time around you know that the venue and the date are needed before you can be sure of any other vendor or detail. Make sure your venue is prepared to host your event on your original date before you move on to keep your plans as is.
Continue to monitor government guidelines and restrictions. Here in New York State we follow the mandates set from our state government which as of today has all of New York on PAUSE. Social gatherings are not allowed so currently weddings and events are completely on hold. Information changes daily – if not hourly – so keep an eye on what your state is mandating so you know how to best chart these waters.
Understand how restrictions affect marriage license application and issuance. A surprise factor in all of this is the fact that some town and county clerk offices have been closed due to the pandemic, closing out couples who are looking to apply for their marriage licenses. The good news is that NYS marriage law states that a marriage license is valid for up to 60 days. So if your wedding is planned for 60 days or less from now, and your local city or county clerk’s office is open, you should go and apply for your license right now to be sure you have the legal permission on hand to be wed. Plan ahead so you are not shut out.
Stay in touch with your booked vendors. This is an uncertain time for many small businesses and it is entirely possible that some wedding vendors will close up shop in the current economic climate. You will want to know about any changes with your vendors as soon as they happen to stay in contact with them throughout the next few months so you can stay ahead of any changes that may come. All support is welcome at this time.
Check in with dress shipments and any attire or decor items that may be coming from overseas. We feel travel restrictions within the US, but the hurt is being felt harder by vendors who live overseas and are trying to manufacture and ship wedding goods to the our country. If you don’t know exactly where your wedding dress or bridesmaids dresses are being made, if your groom is ordering from an international site, or if you are purchasing personalized crafts from overseas vendors – you need to check in on those orders now and monitor those ship dates to make sure the goods will make it in time for your big day.
If your wedding is in June, July, or August 2020 hold off on sending your invitations out. I, along with you, want to hold on to hope that your wedding date is clear (and will be magical), but the truth is that we don’t know for certain that we will be able to celebrate in groups for the next few months. So don’t mail out invitations for an event that is sitting on this edge – instead take a pause on invitations for now to give you a few more weeks to see what happens next. Invitations typically go out 8-10 weeks before a wedding date but if you end up sending them in less time it’s totally ok – the world is crazy and your guests will not judge you at a time like this. So think about sending your invitations out 5-6 weeks ahead with an RSVP date of 3-4 weeks out to give you and your guests the sweet spot of time to make decisions and work on what is left to do past that.
Update your wedding website will all of these details so your guests are informed and empowered. Your guests have a lot of considerations to make for travel, lodging, and their own personal exposure risk so you are going to serve them best by telling them all of your plans in real time. You will also give them the ability to ask you questions and voice concerns if they have any. Next up – wedding party for all!
Related posts –
Getting Married in New York State
Intimate Elopement – Julie and Steve
Photo above by Les Loups
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