Virtual event for wedding planning during Covid-19
Covid-19 is presenting an unprecedented crisis for the world, and if you happen to be planning your wedding this year, that experience is suddenly much more complex. If you’re a little frightened and stressed by what to do about wedding planning during this pandemic and social distancing, we’re here to help with helpful resources and information.
Event planners Maureen Brown, of Emerald Events and Stephanie Mosher of Glass Slipper Event Planning, hosted a virtual wedding vendor FAQ session over Zoom for 2020 brides and grooms-to-be. It gave them a forum to ask questions and get the real lowdown on what to do for wedding planning during the current crisis. Maureen and Stephanie wanted to provide special support and guidance to couples who plan on getting married soon and are feeling overwhelmed.
“We’re all reaching out and trying to support each other right now,” Maureen Brown said. “We realized that the couples who planned on getting married this year may not have much guidance and information. We wanted to give them a forum to ask questions and get advice and encouragement.”
Maureen and Stephanie invited special guests from the industry: florist Didi’s Flowers; photography team Isle & oak Photography; a popular wedding venue, Langley Golf & Banquet Centre; and about 23 couples in the midst of wedding planning who are eager to get trustworthy and sound insider advice on how to proceed in uncertain times.
Here’s a summary of the topics we covered, answers to FAQs, and insider advice on how to move forward and make your wedding just as wonderful as you’d originally dreamed.
Should we book a new date ASAP?
The first questions that came up were centred on the topic of venues: getting a hold of them, rebooking them, what to expect, and much more. Should you expect that weddings will still be on for this summer? Sadly, the consensus in the industry is no. I’t’s likely that there will be no weddings help this summer in BC, except for perhaps some small weddings in the fall, or end of summer small backyard weddings.
“Venues are booking not only the 2020 people, but new couples as well—2020 couples should re-book ASAP. Don’t wait!”, said Maureen.
Vendors should have flexibility in re-booking and have stopped booking new clients for 2021 for the time being until current clients can re-book. Venues are being flexible about room minimums, for example, and allowing people to use their deposit credit for a Christmas party or a baby shower, etc, in the future.
The vendors we spoke to said if they aren’t available to work on your new, re-booked date, they will be more than happy to work with you to find a brilliant new photographer, caterer, or whatever it is you need for your new date.
Photographer Chris from Isle & Oak Photography said: “If we can’t make it on your new date, we’ll find you another great human to work with.”
What about our deposits?
Couples wanted to know what they should do about the deposits they’ve paid to venues, photographers, florists, and caterers. Everyone from the industry says it varies.
The deposit money you pay to vendors helps get them through for 6-12 months or so before your wedding. It covers many costs for them in making your wedding service magical, whether it’s for ads, meetings, emails, and legwork. There is a lot of work that goes in before your big day.
So the chances of you getting refunded your deposit depends on how long the vendor has been working with you, how much time they’ve put into your projects. The hope is that you can keep the vendor and simply bring them along for your new date. If not, many vendors are offering credit in lieu. For example, photographers may offer you credit you could use for future elopement photos, family portraits, maternity shoots, etc. They keep your credit on record until you’re ready to call and have them provide the service, whether it be for an anniversary, party, or new baby.
What if we can’t re-book our favourite venue, caterer, or photographer?
Our best advice is to try and stay flexible. You may end up having your wedding on a Sunday or Thursday in August instead of your original date of Saturday in June. When planning, we often fall in love with our favourite amazing caterer, or that beautiful jazz trio you lined up to play your reception. The fact is, your favourite folks might not all come back or be available for your new booked date. Try to stay open to change and positive.
Prioritize the things most important to you
Is your most crucial vendor the modern vegan caterer? Is it your incredible photographer whose work you adore? Or is it the gorgeous venue that makes your hearts sing? You can change your date based on the most important vendor’s availability, then simply shift and be more flexible for the others.
Sometimes it may be that you have to stick with what you’ve spent the most money on with a deposit and can’t walk away from. Some venues and vendors may have non-refundable deposits.
What’s our best approach right now?
We all have to be patient. Sometimes it will be just a matter of waiting to see how things evolve and what new opportunities come up. Don’t cancel your wedding entirely, you can book sometime next year or wait until 2022.
When re-booking, remember to consider aspects like travel bans and how that might evolve: If you have a lot of family coming from all over the world, you may want to wait until there are fewer travel restrictions. Or maybe you decide not to include people from far away. Maybe you decide to have a much smaller wedding. Even if borders are open, what social distancing measures will be place.
FLOWERS
When everything opens up again, there are still some unknowns for the flower industry: many flowers are imported and may be effected by travel and border bans, planting changes, seasonality, and commodities. You may need to opt for different flowers than you originally planned.
CATERING
Similarly, no one knows what catering will look like after this pandemic. Will they require extra staff to ensure special serving guidelines? Will caterers need to develop new approaches to serving and plating and buffets, etc? Can they pour your wine? How will commodities pricing effect meat and vegetables?
Everything is evolving.
“My best advice is to try not get too attached to one image of how things will work out, and how thing will change,” Maureen said. “No one knows exactly how it will change. W’ere all just doing our best and supporting each other through it. We can help people make really hard decisions.
Maybe your wedding won’t look like the original picture you had, but maybe it will be even better than you’d dreamed! During this crisis, event planners can serve as a reliable resource and peace of mind for couples. They can offer you personalized, informed guidance straight from professionals in the industry.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, remember that you’re not the only one going through this alone!
Do you have any questions or need help for your upcoming event? We are all here to help!
Here are some of the wonderful folks involved in this event:
- Moderator and Event Planner Stephanie Mosher – Glass Slipper Event Planning
- Photography team Chris and Sam from Isle and Oak Photography
- Raj Bains of Didi’s Flowers
- Donna Manhas of Langley Golf and Banquet Center
Add Comment