Make sure you are staying up to date with the news, it’s going to help you decide if/when you should look to postpone your 2020 wedding. If your wedding falls between May 1, 2020 and August 31, 2020 you need to look at your postponement options ASAP. Feel free to visit Bronte Bride’s first blog post for more information on this!
answered by Blush and Co Events

First, take a deep breath, look at the love of your life and remember love isn’t cancelled, your wedding is not cancelled and your marriage is not cancelled, we just need to look at delaying the date! Take some time to discuss what some non negotiable aspects of your wedding are. Could you picture another photographer at your wedding? If the answer is no, reach out to them right away for their availability! Do you have quite a few international guests? Consider postponing into 2021. Really want to keep your full vendor team? Look into a weekday wedding, your guests will be so excited to celebrate with you they won’t notice between a Thursday and Saturday! Once you’ve discussed some of those non-negotiables, reach out to those primary vendors and determine some dates that everyone is available for. It is important to read through your current contracts and ask about any amendments your vendors may have for COVID-19 specific postponements. Please be kind to yourself and your vendor team during this process, we are here to serve you and want to make this happen for you, but many of us are small businesses so start with asking questions and open communication! Take a peek at Bronte Bride’s checklist freebie below for a detailed plan!
answered by Moments by Madeleine Weddings and Events

Unless you are very much okay with reducing your wedding down to the 50 person limit (including your vendors), I think it is in everyone’s best interest to be looking into securing a plan B. Because everything is changing almost weekly right now, it’s super hard to predict what the rest of this year is going to look like in terms of safety and regulations. By waiting it out, you could risk missing out on a lot of your favourite vendor and venue availability. I recommend chatting with your vendors and seeing if they are open to soft-holding a plan B date, just in case. We all want to see you have the wedding you always imagined, and we want to do everything in our power to make sure that happens.
answered by Kadie Hummel Photography

Take comfort in knowing that postponing does not mean you have to start all over again! Planning a wedding is a lot of work, and you have likely spent days, weeks or months already deciding on vendors, your decor vision, the guest list, and all of the other aspects of the wedding day. Most of these plans will be able to transfer over to your new wedding date. Reach out to your vendors to discuss alternate dates you’re considering, and choose a date that works for the majority of them if possible. Things like your guest list, decor and food decisions may need a small amount of tweaking, but unless you’re completely changing your plans, you’ve done most of the hard work already. Keep in mind that for the most part, those of us in the wedding industry want to support you and to make this transition to a new date as stress free as possible. Lastly, if your priorities have changed and cancelling is what you and your fiancé truly want to do, then that may be the best decision. But please keep in mind that most vendors are not able to offer refunds at this time, and you’ll likely be out a lot of money from deposits and retainers paid. I hope that you will postpone instead of cancelling and that you can look forward to celebrating together in the way you dreamed of (when the time is right)!
answered by Kristyn Harder Photography

Absolutely! If your wedding is between September – November, no official decisions need to be made right away, but we recommend starting conversations about a Plan B. That means contacting your primary vendors or looking at potentially reducing your guest list to adhere to the social distancing rules. Getting a clear idea of vendor availability and what your contingency plan looks like, helps you reassess closer to the date.
answered by CNC Event Design

Absolutely not! Most of us have had to postpone more than a few weddings and have successfully navigated these uncertain times with many other couples already. We are able to take on a lot of the logistics surrounding postponement and the wedding day itself so that you have one less worry. This is an emotional time for 2020 couples, having a planner or coordinator on your team can really ease a lot of anxieties surrounding postponement! Not quite ready to commit to a coordinator or planner with a package? Ask about hourly consult fees after that initial complementary consultation!
answered by Moments by Madeleine Weddings and Events

Challenge yourselves to dig deep and decide what is most important to you both as a couple. What does the wedding mean to you? You may have to prioritize different aspects (keeping your date, getting legally married, having a large gathering with family and friends, working with the venue and vendors you chose, etc). There are so many options right now, and while none of them may feel ideal, trust that you will find one that is the best option for the two of you. If postponing your wedding and keeping all of your plans other than the date is what you’ve decided to do, I would encourage you to do your best to keep the excitement and momentum going. This may mean having monthly “planning dates”, revealing fun new details to your guests, starting a new countdown, etc. Take this time to work on your relationship and care for one another during this challenging time – because at the end of the day, keeping yourselves and your relationship healthy and happy is what matters most. answered by Kristyn Harder Photography

WE ARE ON YOUR TEAM. Please please please reach out to your vendors the minute you are thinking of postponing. Retainer payments are non-refundable, and we don’t want to see you move forward without these conversations being had, losing your initial investment. We are here to help you navigate through everything, and want to make sure you still have your dream day with your dream vendors.
answered by Kadie Hummel Photography

First and foremost, you want to be in touch regarding your vendors schedules, to ensure you can keep your dream vendor team if you need to postpone. Receiving a list of available dates from each vendor will help you narrow down what will be your best options.

Secondly, It’s important to be aware of your vendors policies regarding postponements, so if you have any questions, make sure you reach out to chat about your options! We are here to help guide you with all of this, and make sure you’re not missing any details.

At the end of the day, we are all so eager to make sure your day is still everything you imagined it to be, and want this to be a smooth transition for you. Trust us, we are thinking about your day just as much as you are, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you again soon.
answered by Kadie Hummel Photography

We are trying our best to support couples in this uncertain time and show that we really mean it when we say “We’re all in this together”. So we have decided to honour all deposits for new dates in 2021, should clients choose to postpone. And to our knowledge, most vendors are taking this same approach, but please check with each of your vendors as different vendors will have different policies.
answered by Fiore Fine Events

Most vendors in the industry require a non-refundable deposit, and while the reason for this may vary slightly by vendor, in the majority of cases it is in place for a couple consistent reasons. With a short wedding season and limited days (most Weddings are on Saturdays) in Canada, the deposit secures your date/booking by assuring the vendor that you are serious about fulfilling the contract as planned so they can confidently turn down other business on that day. In addition and most importantly, it is important to remember the vendor showing up on your wedding day to perform the agreed upon service is typically only part of what you are paying for. For example, in our business we spend a lot of administrative time prior to the actual event on each booking including emails with the client, coordinating our team, managing contracts, payments, and more so the deposit is also in place to ensure we are compensated for this time should the booking not proceed as planned.
answered by Bellamore Beauty

Under normal circumstances most vendors, including ours, do not allow rescheduling; however for the time being due to Covid-19 most businesses have revised their policies, and in ours brides can reschedule their bookings for any date within 14 months of their original booking. If you have decided not to reschedule and are cancelling all together ask your vendors if you can apply the deposit towards a different type of booking. For us, brides can apply the deposit to one booking, of any type, within the next 14 months. This could be for a girls night, a photoshoot, an elopement, a Party to celebrate your elopement, a Christmas Party, or just because – you name it. This understandably may not be the case for every vendor but it doesn’t hurt to ask!
answered by Bellamore Beauty

We know everyone in your bridal party is incredibly important to you and that facing this situation is really difficult. However, for the safety of you, your vendor team and everyone at your wedding we recommend they stay home, unless they have been tested and can confirm with absolute certainty that they do not have Covid-19. For beauty companies like ours, who are in close contact with every client, this is particularly important so we are happy to make the necessary adjustments to the number of services in a bride’s contract if someone must cancel for this reason so you (or they) are not required to pay for their cancelled service. We can’t speak for every vendor of course, and every situation is different, so we encourage you to ask your vendors these questions in advance of your wedding to make sure everyone is on the same page before-hand.
answered by Bellamore Beauty

Booked Venue 308 clients who have been caught in the current summer restrictions can move their date with confidence into an available date in 2021. However, it is important for couples to check their contracts with their own venue as most retainers are unable to be transferred without penalty or may have additional restrictions. If their date is outside of summer restricted gatherings, we at Venue 308 allow a soft hold on a future date subject to a 24 hour commitment if there is another same date inquiry.

It is important for both sides to approach these unprecedented times with an understanding that we may have to be flexible on areas such as date going forward. Although we can only speak definitively for ourselves at Venue 308, we are recommending that no matter what your chosen venue, start the conversation with them (if that door has not already been opened) and discuss options and what their policies are! Having considered a Plan B (and even C) will be important as the restrictions may continue and there are many emotions involved in a situation such as this; to ensure that you can make a clear decision if it comes down to needing to make some changes to those that were previously planned will be paramount to having the time to grieve and manage the emotional side.
answered by Venue 308

As mentioned above, there is going to need to be some flexibility going forward as there are only so many dates that exist in the next season! Some things to consider are perhaps choosing a date January – April as there may be more weekend options or embracing a weekday date. Let’s be honest, we are all going to be saying ‘yes’ to all outings (regardless of date) that will have us surrounded by loved ones after all of this is in the past! It is important to understand that your venue and all vendors are a small business going through some extremely tough times right now. Keeping your deposit/retainer with them means the world as we navigate how to manage all of these changes. answered by Venue 308

There are tons of alternatives! Elopements and smaller weddings are becoming increasingly popular, and lots of venues are keen to cater to these more intimate celebrations. You can still host a glamorous reception with 50 guests or less, provided you maintain the minimum 2m social distancing restrictions- just check with prospective venues what their options are for smaller events. And if you’re worried about letting people down, you can always throw a more casual party for all your friends and family later on. answered by Rocky Mountain Photo Co.

Absolutely. Lots of photographers and other vendors are doing what they can to facilitate ceremonies while adhering to government guidelines during this time. You might be glad you did it that way – you’ll get a beautifully private, personal ceremony without sacrificing the reception so your loved ones can celebrate with you when things return to normal. It’s like getting to do it twice! Not to mention, we get even more time during the day to focus on a unique mountain adventure session to take once in a life time photos! answered by Rocky Mountain Photo Co.

My first step with summer wedding was to reach out to my couples late March/early April. I had already received 2 emails from brides quite concerned about the worst case scenario…having to postpone. So I took that as a que to reach out to my May – August couples. I sent a letter acknowledging this tough time and that I am in it with them and here to help. I outlined the contract and what happens moving forward if they need to postpone. It has been a little different for each couple but in general, the very easy process has been to send my availability for late 2020 and all of 2021. And then with regular communication we have been able to find new dates for couples. I bought a rescheduling addendum from The Legal Paige so I send that out to my couples and the new date is theirs. All their monies paid transfer to the new date and their final payment date changes as well. For me I am just moving things forward with no fee or price increase but every photographer handles things a little different. Communication & flexibility has been key for me to make this easy and streamlined for my couples. answered by Red Bloom Photography

We honestly do not know what the government regulations around gatherings and social distancing will be on your date. If you want to get legally married on your date, keep it small and by small I mean yourself, your honey and an officiant, maybe a photographer and/or videographer. Consider your front porch or backyard if your date is coming up quickly. Invite close friends and family to drive by after to honour current social distancing rules! We want to celebrate but safely! Keep in mind every vendor is going to have different comfort levels around intimate social distancing gatherings at this time; your videographer might have a child with severe asthma, or a planner with a husband who is immunocompromised, so approach with kindness! If your date is a bit later in the summer, chat with your photographer, planner and officiant (or reach out to one) and ask about options! Us vendors are keeping updated on what is safe for our couples and are more than happy to chat over some options with you as this situation progresses! Not sure if you want to elope on your original date? Get dressed up, order in some amazing takeout from your favourite local restaurant, pop a bottle of bubbles and read sweet love letters to each other. Honour your original date! answered by Moments by Madeleine Weddings & Events

Reach out to your favorite florist at least 2-3 weeks in advance and be flexible with your floral selection as there are limited varieties we can get with Covid-19 interrupting shipment schedules/cargo space. Our suggestion would be to give your florist a color scheme and one inspo photo and then let them take the reigns. You’ve chosen them because you like their designs, so give them the creative freedom to make something beautiful for you! answered by Fall for Florals

Every florist is handling the situation differently and every couple and their plans are also different so we would suggest that you have an open conversation about your plans with your florist and be open to hearing their proposal for a happy medium. We want to be as fair and understanding as possible, but we are also a business with overhead costs.

What we are doing with our couples is:

1. transferring their deposit to a new date. We are not splitting their budget between the 2 days.

-OR-

2. For those wanting to still get married on their original date we are using their full deposit on this day and forgiving the remaining balance. We are then creating a new quote/contract for their second wedding date. The reason we are choosing to do this is because the original quote would have been drafted and dreamt up for a certain design in a certain venue during a specific season. The chances of their second date being exactly the same is slim.

Again, there are so many scenarios that could play out, there just aren’t 2 simple answers. We are empathetic towards all the couples whose wedding plans have been tossed a curveball, but please talk to your florist with an open mind. answered by Fall for Florals

We at Venue 308 are hosting elopements (although, we prefer to call them ‘Bespoke Intimate Gatherings’!). We are so enjoying watching love win. There are many couples out there that cannot simply just reschedule their wedding with their original vendors as it may have been a destination, or it may simply be that they wish to move on with their lives and we are happy to be a part of that. Those who have reached out to us in the past few weeks are incredible human beings that just want to be married to their person and have agreed to celebrate with all of their friends and family when safe to do so.

As a Calgary business and a business citizen of Alberta, we have taken the public health advice as rules of conduct. As a result, these have been our guiding black and white principles which we can assure to anyone entering our doors are taken care of for them and for us. These are non-negotiable items that Chris Grassie (Venue 308’s General Manager) is charged with on behalf of himself, our venue, and our clients.

At any venue, a couple should expect no less! answered by Venue 308

We know that a change to mass gatherings in Alberta can occur in Phase Two (with physical distancing restrictions and number of guests to be determined), with the tentative move into Phase Two on June 19th. The transition to phase three is currently still an unknown! We do know that weddings are some of the most intimate events; physical distancing means no dance, no hugging your guests, spacing out guests, no buffet style dinner or dessert tables. However, as of Friday, May 15th, the gathering restrictions increased to 50 guests outside. So yes, events or weddings that are 100% outdoors can now occur in Alberta of up to 50 attendees while maintaining social distancing. Keep in mind, this still means 6ft must be maintained between any one outside your household with restrictions on how food and beverage must be served, seating arrangements etc. Restrictions are changing daily but at the end of the day, have a back up plan and be ready to execute it! If you are wanting to move forward with an intimate event, let’s say ceremony this year and party next year, chat with your vendor team and reach out to a planner! Utilize our consult services, the packages many of us are providing or even just hourly support. We are here for you to ensure your wedding happens in a memorable and safe manner. answered by Moments by Madeleine Weddings and Events

Fall weddings are in a difficult spot, but I think the one thing we have really learned in the last 8 weeks is make a plan B and even a plan C. If you are getting married this fall, really the following factors surrounding your guest list; number of guests, where your guests are coming from and the health of your guests. Consider having plan B be decreasing your guest list to under 50 people and start to discuss potential restrictions such as buffet dinner service being prohibited, no dancing/close contact allowed, less guests at each table. Chat with your vendors about a potential plan C – postponing to a later date, this will be a great option if you would prefer not to decrease your guest list or can’t picture your wedding without dancing till the night ends. I don’t know if we really can label any date as safe right now! COVID-19 and it’s implications on the normal way of life is something that changes day by day and week by week, all we can do is take this situation one step at a time and navigate it with grace and kindness. answered by Moments by Madeleine Weddings and Events

At this point, it would be wise to put together a solid plan B, which could be postponement or a different version of your original wedding plan. If your heart is set on a wedding this Fall, consider that restrictions may be lighter by then, but social distancing measures could still be in effect and the size of gatherings may still be limited. If you are able to trim your guest list to less than 50 people (including vendors) and adjust what your celebration looks like such as having a plated meal and not a buffet, less people at each table for social distancing, no dancing, etc., it’s possible that you will still be able to have a celebration this year with your loved ones. answered by Fiore Fine Events

I highly suggest you postpone (not cancel) your bachelorette or bridal shower to later in the year or even next spring. Even if you end up eloping or having a small ceremony in the meantime, you can STILL celebrate with your best girls at a later date when social distancing is relaxed. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to fully celebrate marrying the love of your life! And if you need something to hold you over, have a virtual hang with the gals. Don’t forget the wine!

With the latest restrictions changing to allow 50 people in an outdoor space for gatherings, there could be an opportunity to celebrate your bridal shower in the fresh air and sunshine. Just be prepared with a backup plan in case the weather turns! (Think tents, canopies, a new date, etc…)answered by Melissa Dawn Designs

A wedding website may be the easiest way to keep your guests up to date on your wedding details as ongoing advisories and rules are provided in your area. If you havent already built one for Invites/RSVP’s you can easily head to website builders like The Knot, Squarespace, Wix, Wedding wire or Minted and add ongoing updates and details. answered by Coco + Ash Weddings and Events

There are many ways to communicate your postponed wedding to your guests and it depends on whether your invitations have been mailed or not.

If you have sent your save-the-dates or invitations already, I highly encourage sending a new “change the date” card, or emailing a digital card to your friends/family if budget is an issue. I also recommend following up with your guests as well to make sure that they received their change-the-date.

Please remember though that if your date is changed, you’ll need new RSVP responses from everybody for the updated date. You can do this by requesting they call/email/text you, or if your budget allows, sending all new RSVP cards with your change-the-date card.

However you choose to proceed, we’re here for you and our hearts go out for you. Feel free to reach out to a stationer personally and we’ll give you our best advice!

We designed two digital postponement cards exclusively for Brontë Bride, you can download them below! answered by Vertala Design Co

If the invitations are already printed but haven’t been mailed yet, you can always add a small insert card with the original suite. The small insert card can be kept light-hearted and say “Our invitations with the original date are so pretty and we still want to send them out! Please note we have changed our wedding date to …………”. You can reach out to the stationer who created your wedding invitations to keep things cohesive. answered by Debbie Wong Design

If the invitations have already been mailed, there are a couple of options to let your guests know about the new date. The first is sending a digital “Change the Date” card. Your stationer can help you create a JPEG that matches your original invitations, that can be emailed to your guests. The second option is printing a small card noting the new date and mailing it to your guests. This option is more costly as you’ll have to factor in printing, envelopes and postage costs. answered by Debbie Wong Design

This is such a difficult decision, but we expect that many people will be understanding given the circumstances! Try not to stress – be open and honest. If you’re able, we suggest a personal call or video message to share the change in plans, however a personalized email could also be sent. We’d suggest writing something like this:

Dear _____ + ______,

As you know, we were planning to be married on (insert date here) and were looking forward to sharing this special day with all of our family & friends. We have chosen to still be married this year, but unfortunately due to Covid-19 restrictions, we’ve had to reduce the number of guests able to witness our marriage in-person. We are so grateful to have you in our lives and are sorry you will not be able to celebrate with us at this time. We are thankful for your understanding, love & support (from a distance) on our wedding day and as we embark on this journey in marriage. We look forward to sharing photos & visiting with you when circumstances permit.

With much love,

______ + _______ answered by Beyond the Proposal

If you have already ordered your gown COVID should not affect your timeline at all. We are working closely with our Designers to ensure gowns are arriving on time and in according to your original order. If you are a 2021 Bride shopping, this may affect time lines just slightly. Because of world fabric supply production, and the back log of new orders designers will have when they all reopened, ordering will take longer than the usual 4-6 months. We recommend starting to shop at minimum 10 months prior to your new wedding date. Keep in mind you will want to allot 2 months after you receive the gown for alterations!

However, do not be discouraged if you are a last minute shopper! A lot of our Designers are starting to offer buying incentives like free rush fees and all of us stores will have an array of samples on sale as we slowly start to reopen! answered by Blush & Raven

We are in close contact with all of our designers and they are letting us know if there will be any delays on dress shipments. Nothing is currently expected to be delayed more than a few weeks. We are currently working with the designers to send brides gowns based on their wedding date to ensure all brides still getting married this year will have their dress in time! answered by Pearl & Dot

For storing we are telling our brides to keep their gown in its garment bag, in a closet away from direct sunlight. It must be hung with its hang tags that are in the gown not by the straps of the gown or it could stretch them. answered by Pearl & Dot

Some of your flower selection may need to change depending on the season you choose for your new wedding date. If you originally were getting married in the spring and are postponing to a spring date in 2021 the same flower varieties should be available. If you are switching from spring to fall then you will likely need to change up some of your flowers. For example peonies are only available locally in the spring and early summer and dahlias are a summer and fall flower. Certain flowers have very marked seasons but there are flower varieties that are available year round. Talk with your wedding florist about which blooms may need to be substituted and trust that they will create something beautiful with the flowers that will be in season. answered by Flowers by Janie

Video! As restrictions on event capacity may have an effect on your guest count, investing in a wedding film is a great way to still include family and friends that are not able to be there in person. In addition to having a timeless way to relive your wedding day, a wedding film ensures that guests separated by travel restrictions can still view your day. I highly recommend hiring a videographer for Covid affected events. answered by Twisted Film Works

If you’ve already made the decision to postpone your wedding to a later date I know how much that probably took out of you! Now all the little details and changes come flooding in. But before you panic, know that you can easily adapt your summer wedding to fall/winter without sky high stress levels. First find out what elements you can change without additional costs or fees, like simply switching the colour of your linens. Next find out what will automatically change with the season, like florals- some of which are seasonal anyways so you can easily design a new style with the fall/winter selection. Lastly, consider adding cool or warm tones to accent your tablescape and design elements to flip the feel. The season doesn’t have to dictate your wedding design! But if you want to adjust your wedding to coordinate better with the new season, simple changes can make a big difference so don’t think you need to re-do the entire design. answered by Coco + Ash Weddings and Events

Technically no – it’s your wedding and if you want to have spring colours in the fall or early winter because you love them, then do that! However, you may run into some challenges with your original floral order and may need to make some changes to accommodate what is in season. Fall/winter colours tend to be warmer, more rich tones. If there is a spring palette that you love but want to make changes to accommodate the season, see if you can find a comparable colour palette in warmer tones to make the shift for the seasons. answered by Beyond the Proposal

I sure hope so! I couldn’t live in a world without flowers. Flower farmers and growers have unfortunately been hit hard by Covid-19 and some have had to close down or reduce their production due to less demand (there isn’t the usual need for wedding and graduation flowers so the farmers are really feeling the effects and having to take huge losses because they can’t sell their flowers). There could be less product available which may cause flower prices to increase (supply + demand) but there should still be flowers. We are currently purchasing BC grown blooms to support our Canadian growers. There are so many gorgeous flower varieties available locally from spring through fall. answered by Flowers by Janie

We have created 3 different resources to help our couples and brides with postponing, in the hopes that we can make this process even a little easier for you. See below! answered by Brontë Bride

Most vendors are still actively working with their clients to continue planning the details for their big day. While face-to-face meetings may look a little different than they did a few months ago, vendors are encouraging their couples to set-up virtual meetings where they can still maintain the interactive component and go over the details of your wedding day. If you are experiencing slightly longer response times, don’t be afraid to send your vendor a friendly reminder about your email, chances are they just missed seeing your email! answered by Blush and Co Events

It’s definitely a good idea! The majority of vendors are still taking on new clients for 2021, while also trying to accommodate their 2020 postponements, so there is no harm in solidifying your date if you are ready. A lot of vendors in the industry would be more than happy to book you in!answered by CNC Event Design

Yes absolutely. Some friends of mine are fully booked for 2021. I would recommend postponed couples and new bookings consider weekday or Sunday weddings and being flexible on the month. I can say with certainty that the day of the week your wedding is does not affect it at all. People who love you have an amazing time whether it is on a Saturday or Tuesday! answered by Red Bloom Photography