Right now there’s a fair amount of uncertainty for the 2020 wedding season. The year started with a lot of promises and busy schedules for many of us in the wedding industry. Dates in 2020 were desired by many brides, and the majority of vendors were booked well in advance for coveted dates. Everyone that’s in the wedding industry is seeing an intensifying demand and bookings for 2021 dates.
There’s a few things couples should know when they’re looking at alternative dates. First, review your various vendor contracts to determine what options might exist. This will be particularly important when it comes to deposits and understanding what is transferable, refundable or not. Some vendors could explicitly follow the contract while others might be more willing to accommodate changes. The specific terms and conditions may directly impact your decision process so it’s important to know. Our advice is simple, it’s in your best interest to review your contract and have a list of questions ready for vendors, should you need any clarification.
The second tip is to have some flexibility with your new date. In our experience the wedding season for Stratford, Kitchener, and Waterloo typically runs from May until October. Dates within those six months are the first to go and in some cases they are booked a year or more in advance. Saturdays have traditionally gone first, followed closely by Fridays and occasionally Sundays. Fridays were almost as popular as Saturdays for bookings in 2020, however, Sundays (unless they fall on a long weekend) are not that common. Considering long weekends and dates later in the year such as November and December might give you more options.
Third, you may need to make some deviations from your original wedding vendors. Simply due to increased demand for 2021 dates there is a chance some of your original vendors might not be available. If experience is something that’s important to you, make sure you know the credentials of any new vendors or substitutions and schedule a meeting with them. It’s a given that there will be a lot of new people entering the wedding industry, which occurs naturally every year, however, the 2020 wedding season (or lack of) will influence additional professionals to leave. Wedding professionals with actual working experience will be harder to find for 2021 weddings. Be sure to ask about the experience and credentials of anyone working at your wedding.
The 2021 wedding season will undoubtedly look different from 2020 and prior years. The celebrations will happen again and new memories will be made. Your 2021 wedding might look slightly different than the wedding plan from 2020, but it will still be great. The story and celebration of love that a wedding tells is something couples and families always remember. Those stories scheduled 2020 might be delayed, but they’ll just be that much more special in 2021. Stay positive and be ready to adapt if things change a little bit because your wedding is more than a calendar date. It’s the celebration of your love with family and friends.
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