Starting with phase 1 of the de-escalation, the celebration of weddings, among other events, is allowed in Spain. More than 17,000 links have had to be canceled. The health crisis caused by COVID-19 has caused many couples to overcome all kinds of vicissitudes. The most impatient have chosen to hold ceremonies through video calls or without guests. We recommend consulting the current law before celebrating the marriage. Below we leave you with some tips, compiled by one of our expert collaborators in event planning and organization, Daniela Martín del Campo.
What is the most advisable, cancel or postpone the wedding?
The most advisable thing is to postpone the wedding and we summarize it in two points:
- The wedding is a day that couples have been planning and looking forward to for several months. A day full of hope, love and family; Ending the pandemic, that is what we are going to want to celebrate. We must not let the pandemic rob us of a long-awaited day.
- On the other hand, weddings involve a large number of people: suppliers of flowers, food, furniture, lighting, DJ, among others... if you continue with the wedding, you will help all these people to continue with their work and bring income to their houses. At the end of the day, it is a decision that the couple must make, as a couple, but they should not be afraid to celebrate their marriage on a Friday or Sunday, they should be open to changes.
What problems does canceling the wedding entail?
- The first thing to check when thinking about canceling weddings are the contracts you have with your suppliers. There are some who make refunds without problem, there are others who have already used part of your deposit to start the production of your wedding. If you want to cancel the wedding, it is very likely that you will lose the money invested.
How long should a wedding be postponed?
- People who canceled their weddings in the months of March, April, May and June are postponing them to the second half of the year. And they are scheduling their weddings for the months of October and November if they find an available date where they planned to get married and all their suppliers are available, they have even postponed weddings up to a full year and nothing happens! It gives you time to think twice about the decisions you made. If you had doubts about changing anything about your wedding, now you have time to think again about this decision.
What happens to services already contracted and payments made?
- Most event contracts have different cancellation clauses so it may vary from supplier to supplier, but most handle it in the same way: payments made will not be returned since they were invested in the production and preparation of the event. . Remember that this circumstance is new and has no history within the industry so there is no specific clause on PANDEMICS, we are all learning as we go. From my own experience, suppliers are doing everything possible to return payments to people who had to cancel their weddings.
What if you had already sent the invitations?
- Nothing happens, you are not the first or the only person this happens to, it is advisable to send a “save the date” with the new date electronically to your guests.”
As for the bride's dress, how will it be affected?
- The first and most important thing is to contact your clothing supplier, see what policies they are taking in their stores. Maybe you can schedule an appointment where you will go alone to make adjustments or it may be that the store is closed completely; The first thing is to investigate. Some wedding dresses have been affected, mostly the dresses that are imported since they have been affected by this, but your wedding day will arrive, postponing your wedding gives you time so that when all this uncertainty passes, your dress will be delivered perfect.
How can you organize a wedding celebration on a digital platform?
- Nowadays you can find different apps that will help you with the organization of your wedding, in these you can make your gift list, guest list, send invitations, a payment calendar, budget table, different suppliers and even a calendar that Remember what activity you must complete by that date. NB Important check the legislation. In the Spanish state, a wedding is only valid with the physical presence of all the parties relevant to the celebration of the marriage.
What about the honeymoon?
- The honeymoon will have to be postponed, many people will not be able to take their honeymoon after their wedding because of the days they have to take from work, due to lack of budget or because your travel agency arranges other dates and nothing happens! Remember that at this time many borders are closed and there are countless travel restrictions, so it will be very difficult to go on your honeymoon, especially if it is outside your country. Take all this as an adventure, you can have an incredible anniversary trip that many couples want.
What trends will be seen in wedding celebrations after the first phases of the post-COVID-19 de-escalation?
- They will be physical celebrations with restrictions on the number of people invited. The regulations state that only a third of the capacity reserved for celebrations can be occupied. And even though the quarantine has been lifted, people must practice social distancing and some other rules such as the use of masks. There will be weddings where guests' temperatures will be taken before entering, for example, and others where fewer guests will be seated per table to respect the distance between person and person. Weddings will be more personalized, with details from the bride and groom towards their guests since there will be fewer of them and those that really matter.
What will be the biggest change in weddings before and after COVID-19?
- We will return to more intimate weddings and celebrate and honor what really matters: the union of two people, love, happiness and the hope of creating a life together.
- Over the years, weddings have become a party, a competition for the trendiest dress, the most festive DJ, and the catering designed more for Instagram than for the guests, almost leaving aside the fact that what is celebrated is the union between two people, who promise each other love for life.
Content supervised and curated by wedding planning and organization expert Daniela Martín del Campo, interview by Mariana, content curation in Mimoke, Ethical Jewelry.