Wedding Postponement cancelled due to Covid-19. Stay Calm

As the Covid-19 status continues to progress, the situation worldwide keeps evolving, with many government regulations being implemented – travel restrictions, advisory against large gatherings. Couples who had plans to have their wedding during this period are facing immersed stress as the virus outbreak disrupts all the painstaking planned arrangements.

However, in the midst of the uncertainties, always be reminded of what your big day is for. At the end of the day, it is about you and your partner. Despite all your efforts that may have gone down the drain, safety is still the priority, and you wouldn’t want to be constantly worried and stress out during your wedding.

Here are some links to get the latest update of Covid19 in Singapore:

Ministry of Health Singapore

StraitsTimes

How will Covid19 affect your wedding postponement

1. Old people / Guests are concern over Covid-19

Most weddings have elderly guests, it could be you and your partner’s grandparents or your relatives. With the elderly being more at risk of the virus, Covid-19 can be a potential issue for your wedding.

Also, as the situation worsens, there is a widespread fear and panic amongst people. It is going to be your special day, and you wouldn’t want people to be in constant fear while attending your wedding. It is a day to be joyful, to laugh and have fun.

2. Travel restrictions because of COVID-19

More governments are implementing travel restrictions in Singapore. With that, you may find many of your overseas’ family and friends unable to attend your wedding. In addition, the Singapore government is also imposing stricter travel regulations, with tourists from certain countries not allowed entry and firmer stay-home isolation.

Here are some countries that are not allowed entry to Singapore: Italy, France, Spain, Germany, mainland China, South Korea, and Iran.

Therefore, if you have love ones from overseas that you would want them to attend your wedding, you may want to consider making changes to your wedding. Especially with the recent Malaysia’s lockdown, some of your Malaysian relatives may have to miss out on your wedding.

What should you do if you decided to cancel/postpone your wedding?

Here’s a video we did to explain what you should do in the event of a postponement.

Not wanting to risk exposing your family and friends to the virus, some of you might have to make a very difficult decision to postpone/cancel your wedding. This may come with many consequences such as losing your deposits or even forgoing your dream wedding, but keeping you and your love ones safe is the most important thing. So here are some guides to help you along the way:

1. What are your wedding venue policies on wedding postponement

The biggest expenditure of the wedding comes from your venue rental and FnB. If you do decide to cancel or postpone your wedding, most of your monetary losses will come from your venue cancellation fee.

However, the good news is, most venues allow you to push back your booking dates within 2020 without any additional charges. Some hotels also waive off cancellation fees for bookings made between a certain period.

You may check out the links below on some hotels’ change and cancellation policies:

Master List of Hotel Coronavirus Change and Cancellation Policies

Every Major Hotel Chain’s Coronavirus Cancellation and Refund Policy

But still do check in with your hotel’s sales coordinator and confirm the cancellation/postpone terms and conditions as there may be changes to the hotel’s policies.

2. Discuss with your vendors on their cancellation or postponement policies

Every wedding vendor has different terms and conditions, talk to your vendors about their postponement/cancellation terms. The most important thing is to find out about the refund policies.

In the midst of this chaos and unhappiness, your wedding vendors are more than willing to work things out with you. Discuss and negotiate with your vendors and come to an agreement. Here are some alternatives should your deposits can’t be refunded:

Postpone to another date in 2020: most vendors allow postponing of their services to another date in 2020 without charging an extra fee. However, this is also subjected to the vendor’s availability. If your vendor works in a team or with associates, they will most likely be flexible with the dates. If your vendor works solo, changing the date might be slightly tricky.

Also, should you postpone your wedding to 2021, it will be subjected to the vendor’s 2021 pricelist. This may incur a small additional cost.

Engage in other services: for example, if your photographer doesn’t allow refunds or is unavailable for your postponed date, you may negotiate with your photographer to have your deposit fees used for a pre-wedding or birthday shoot instead.

It is strongly recommended to push back your wedding instead of canceling which can benefit both couples and vendors. Be understanding to your vendors, as this situation is also putting them in a tight spot financially. So be open and communicate honestly with your vendors as they will also do their best to accommodate your needs.

3. Inform your guests on the wedding postponement

Lastly, the most important thing for you to do is to inform your guests. Should you decide to postpone or cancel your wedding, you need to let your guests know as soon as possible so that they can stop any arrangements they are making for your wedding such as travel plans or taking work leave. Though you may still be uncertain about your decision as the outbreak is still progressing, you should at least inform them of what is going on with your wedding plans. Never leave your guests hanging and uncertain.

You can personally send your guests messages to inform them quickly about your wedding changes or send out new digital invites should you managed to decide on another wedding date.

How to keep safe if you decide to continue with your wedding

1. Advisory to sick guests

Send out a message to each of your guests to make sure that if any of them are not feeling well, they are strongly encouraged to stay at home instead of the safety of the other guests. You can also let them know what are the symptoms to take note of such as the runny nose, cough, and fever.

2. Downsize

With the government discouraging large group gatherings, an alternative is to downsize your wedding and invite only those of your vey close ones such as your immediate family and closest friends. A good size to look at is around 40 – 50 pax.

3. Avoid buffet-style

To maintain social distancing and prevent any contact with one another, it is strongly encouraged to avoid communal and self-serving services such as buffets. Although it will be more costly, it is best to play safe and have plated lunch/dinner instead.

4. Consider having live-stream

With the travel ban and having the need to downsize, there will be many of your love ones who wouldn’t be able to make it for your event. However, if you still want them to witness and celebrate your big day with you, you can still include them using live-streaming. Pre-recorded videos and online games can also be useful. With many technology platforms, your guests don’t have to miss out on this special day.

5. Thorough checks with your vendors

Make sure that your vendors have strict hygiene habits. Ask them about their cleaning procedures and hygiene checks, especially for your venue if there were previous bookings or many people walks in and out of the venue.