There are many reasons why someone may have had to postpone their wedding but we have never seen as many events and weddings having to be postponed world wide as we did during the Covid-19 pandemic. I am so sorry if you have had to postpone your wedding recently. I hope you will find my tips below useful if you’ve had to postpone your wedding to a different season.
No matter the reason for the postponement, it is always especially difficult for a couple to change their wedding plans – you have been planning this day for months and at times even years and now you have to postpone and adapt and double up on planning and organisational work that you had already done, and the effort involved and potentially the stress increase while you have to deal with uncertainties and the disappointment that goes along with waiting for this special day even longer and potentially loosing out on working with some of your favourite vendors if not all of them are still available for your new date.
If you manage to move your event to the same date the next year, you’ll have a few things to change and plan but as long as your venue and vendors are still available and your guests will still be able to attend, this is not too bad and hopefully you can find some joy in looking forward to your big day again. If however you’ve had to postpone your big day to another season entirely, i.e. your planned Spring or Summer wedding will now happen in Autumn or Winter, you’ll probably have to invest additional time.
You may find it useful to create replacement moodboard(s) so you can plan out your changes and give your vendors a visual guide which shows your amended wedding elements.
Transport for a Different Season
Congratulations if you managed to move your wedding to another date but will hold the ceremony and the reception at the venue(s) that you had originally chosen! However, when you postpone your wedding to a different season, it’s possible that the weather is going to be very different from what you would have originally expected.
If your ceremony and reception venues are down the road from each other and the guests were supposed to walk from one to the other, consider if you now may need to hire transport to get them there safely and conveniently in case the weather is not on your side on your big day. Or at least having a car for the elderly relatives and a number of umbrellas available for everyone else? If you are someone who likes to personalise everything, you could even personalise them. Or choose umbrellas in your colour scheme or in all the colours of the rainbow – that could be a lovely photo opportunity!
If it is going to be hot on your wedding day, consider getting some fans or parasols and do not forget to have small bottles of water available. You do not want anyone fainting in the heat or have issues with dehydration!
Your Venue during a Different Season
Did you plan a cocktail reception in the garden or courtyard? Check with the venue if they’ll have an alternative room for that in case of cold or bad weather (will it need decorating?) or if they can set up a gazebo and a few outdoor heaters if not.
Were you imagining that guests would pop outside during the course of the evening to take in some fresh air and view the stars and had planned an open fire maybe with some marshmallows to roast (mmmmhhh, s’mores…)? Check with the venue if they can set up a sheltered area with a few outdoor heaters. You could provide throws, organise some lanterns and maybe set up a hot chocolate station to keep your guests toasty warm while they enjoy the night sky. Be aware when providing throws that guests may forget to give them back at the end of the night which can get awkward and expensive if they were hired (yup, that happens).
Different Season, Different Flowers?
Have a look at the flowers you had chosen for your wedding, do you want to continue with the same colour scheme? Or do you think that the blush coloured florals for your spring wedding do not vibe with your idea of a winter wedding? You decide what you like and what you want! You might be able to stick with the original flower types and just switch to ones in a different colour, for example go with white roses instead of blush ones and add darker/more greenery or choose a darker colour palette instead, for example a ruby red instead of your original tangerine.
Talk to your florist if your chosen flowers will still be available for your new date or if they will be out of season. They may still be able to get the flowers but they are likely going to be more expensive if out of season. In this case, do you still have a buffer in your budget to cover this additional expense?
If you had to change your venue as it was no longer available for your new date, have a look at your notes if there were any special features of the original venue you had planned to enhance with floral decorations, e.g. a grand old staircase, banister or fireplace. Do these features exist in your new venue and will your planned decorations work with them or does the new venue have other features that you’d like to accentuate?
Speaking about change in venue, are the chairs and tables of a similar style in the new venue? A beautiful floral centerpiece designed for a round table will most likely not work on long tables but your florist will be able to create something equally stunning for your new tables.
Are your flowers dried or are you hiring potted plants or succulents instead? Decide if you still want to go with the same and get in touch with your supplier to make sure that they will still be available or to check what alternatives they may be able to provide.
If you have chosen artificial or paper flowers, are you still happy with the colours? Depending on the materials, you may be able to change the colours or add little accents like a touch of (biodegradable) glitter or crystals to make them shine in the darker season.
If you have preordered flower petals for the “confetti moment“, ask your supplier if they can postpone the delivery.
Seasonal Food for your Wedding
Especially if you had chosen seasonal and/or locally grown food for your wedding, now that you have had to postpone your wedding to a different season, discuss with your venue or caterer what will and will not be available for your new date and what replacements may be suitable. The same applies for your desserts and wedding cake, if you have chosen seasonal fruits for decoration for example.
Decorations and Centerpieces
Are you thinking of changing up your decorations or changing your colour palette? Check with your venue, caterer or hiring company if they can provide charger plates, glasses, napkins or table cloths in a different colour. You could even get candles in a different colour. Just one of those elements in another colour can give your table a completely different look. Or you could add elements like table scatter, small baubles or glittery ribbon to add a touch of sparkle.
Consider if you’d like to change your on-the-day stationary like table numbers, menus, table plan or escort cards and papercones for flower petals or rice in line with your other changes to tie it all together.
If your favours matched the previous theme and/or were supposed to be food items or plants, double check that they will make it until your new date or if you’ll want to look into alternatives, especially if you’ve not actually ordered or made them yet.
I hope these tips and ideas help you if you had to postpone your wedding to a different season. If you’d like some help changing your styling for your postponed wedding, re-making decorations for it or making a new moodboard, I would be happy to be your event assistant, reduce your stress and help you to make budget friendly decisions. Please have a look at both my wedding planning and wedding styling services here and please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.
Jess Creates Events 