The countdown to your dream wedding day may be a little longer with all of the restrictions and social distancing in place amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Brides and grooms have to make a decision on whether or not they want to push their wedding day to a later date.

“Working in an industry that’s always happy and filled with love I never thought I would experience what’s happening to our brides and grooms across Long Island,” says Heather Cunningham, owner of the Wedding Warehouse and founder of Brides of Long Island. “We always tell our members that generally one or two things go wrong on their wedding days and to just roll with the punches, but we never prepared them, nor were we prepared, for the hundreds of weddings that are being postponed and canceled.”

Cunningham adds that there are no words to ease the disappointment and sadness they are going through after months and years of planning. “I hope they remember that pushing these events off is for the greater good and hopefully it will make for a good story they can share with their grandkids one day,” says Cunningham.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when postponing your wedding day. 

The first thing to do is contact your venue. Venue halls will have information and guide you toward making a decision on wedding postponement. Some venues may allow you to change the date of your wedding reception. After you check with your venue on new dates, contact your other vendors to see if they are also available for that date. 

Here is a list of vendors to contact if you are postponing:
Venue hall
Photographer/Videographer
Florist
DJ or band
Church or wedding officiant
Hair and makeup stylists 
Limo or transportation
Hotels
Bakery or other catering hall
Travel agent/airlines for honeymoon

According to the Knot it is important to check through your contracts to see if you can get partial or full refunds for your vendors. It says to check contracts to see if it includes a force majeure clause, which may relieve you from your contractual obligations. 

It is important to be transparent with your guests. If you have a wedding website, make sure to make an announcement about the wedding postponement. Another option is to call or make emails to those who are invited to your wedding. 

Once you change your wedding date, be sure to contact your hotels that you have set up hotel blocks for. See if they can change the date for guests for a partial or full refund. You may also need to contact airports to see if they will switch the dates for your guests who are out of town. 

Postponing your wedding may be a stressful task and it is important to ask friends and family if they can help with calling guests and vendors.  

Other wedding activities to keep in mind that may also need to be postponed: 
Bridal Shower
Bachelorette/Bachelor parties
Rehearsal Dinner
After hours wedding-related events
Honeymoon plans