Here's what I am doing
to help during Covid-19
2020 wedding couples:
I want you to be aware of my availability before starting the process of rescheduling your wedding date. To make things easy I have created this guide including steps to rescheduling, my availability calendar for 2021, my rescheduling policy, new studio policies and links to wedding blogs providing advice to couples during this time.
What do I do next?
Step 1
Contact your venue
You deserve to have your wedding day! Postpone your wedding date, do not cancel it. Contact your venue first and ask for dates they have available in 2021. Venues typically only book 1 wedding a day so it is important that they are consulted with first about a date change.
Step 2
Contact your vendors
Reach out to all your vendors and let them know the date options your venue provided. Ideally everyone should be available for at least one of those dates. Remember each vendor is a small business so each will have their own rescheduling policies.
Step 3
Date Change
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Send an "unsave the date" to your guests.
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Follow-up with a new save the date 12 weeks before your new date.
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Send an official invitation 8 weeks before your date. Yay!
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Send these digitally (free and eco-friendly) or via mail.
Available Dates
Rescheduling Policies
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Plan your new date around a day I have available. If you choose a date I am not available then I will hire an associate photographer of equal skill and talent to photograph your wedding day. If an associate shoots in my place all editing and final gallery delivery is still done by me.
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I am not charging a rescheduling fee. You will need to sign a rescheduling addendum.
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Your original retainer payment and any payments made are applied to your new wedding date.
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Your payment due dates will remain on the same schedule outlined in your original contract.
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You can put a soft hold on a 2021 date if you are unsure about rescheduling at this time. If someone else chooses that soft hold date you will be notified and will then have 72 hours to decide if you want to move forward with officially rescheduling or the date will be released to the other couple.
Outdoor Engagement Session Policies
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You will need to sign a waiver prior to your session. The waiver outlines the sick policy, rescheduling policy and what I am doing to keep you safe!
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I will be wearing a mask your entire session, you are not required to wear one outdoors.
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I kindly ask that you keep your distance from me. In different circumstances hugs and handshakes would be welcomed but right now the rule is 6ft apart.
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Most outdoor locations require a permit application and/or fee or permission from the property owner, you are responsible for ensuring we can shoot at the outdoor location you choose.
Wedding Blogs You May Find Helpful:
FAQ
What are your other couples planning?
So far, all March-June couples have postponed to Summer and Fall 2020 (August-November) and a handful have moved their wedding date to 2021. After recent news that the gathering limit for the remainder of 2020 may range from 10-50 people total, more couples have opted to reschedule to 2021. I stay updated on the gathering limit here.
What should we do?
You should postpone your wedding, not cancel it. You deserve the wedding day you have planned for and paid for. If you are trying to save money, cancelling is not the way to go about it. Keep in mind you will need to be flexible about date availability.
First and foremost, read all of your vendor contracts. Next, if you do not have one already, hire a wedding planner. Wedding planners have taken over vendor correspondence, navigating contracts and are vigourously stay updated on news and current events. After that, determine if you are willing to or able to limit your guest count to less than 50. Consider travel limitations and high risk guests when making that decision. At this time in the state of Maryland we are required to wear masks indoors, realistically, a large group of people that are seated close together, would be unable to eat that delicious meal you picked out while wearing a mask.
Does the gathering limit include vendors?
From what I have been told, yes, it does include vendors in the total count. Most vendors that would be with you for your full day usually have smaller teams of 1-3 people but catering staff and bands tend to have a larger team.
What vendors should we contact first?
All of them. You are likley on a payment plan and you will need to see what each vendors policy is for payments when rescheduling. Here is the order I would consider:
1. Your venue and planner are the most important
2. Your photographer, videographer and any vendor that is a single person business
3. Vendors that have a team and are known to do multiple weddings a day, they will have more flexibilty.
Once all vendors have confirmed a date, put them all in a group email to send the final confirmation, this is a good way for us to connect! Your vendors are a team of professionals all working together to to serve you!
