Early October wedding - postpone?

[bravotango]

Hi - I have seen a few posts about Covid-19 related summer wedding postponements but wanted to hear opinions about postponing my wedding, currently booked for October 3rd. Do you think it would be wise to postpone for Spring 2021 or do people think things might be back to (relative) normality by the end of September?

Thoughts and advice welcome. TIA

What will the financial impact be - will you lose deposits etc if you postpone now? When do you have to pay in full by? Do you have insurance and will it pay out if you postpone/cancel now?

For me I'd say it's too soon to say, personally I am fairly optimistic we'll be out the other side of this by the end of the summer but obviously no one knows. I think unless you have impending payments due I would give it another month or 2 and you will have a better idea by then...

Not much to lose money wise, but friends/family abroad will have to book flights which could be lost if it has to be cancelled later down the line.

I'm also optimistic! Will give it probably until May and then decide. Would be interested to hear from other October weddings who have/haven't decided to postpone.

Yes, I would postpone for a year x

I'm supposed to be having a late October wedding - fingers crossed that we will still going ahead at the moment but the uncertainty is so stressful. Have heard a lot of people rearranging for October so am trying to remain hopeful.

So I was meant to be getting married next week. Not happening now.
We have a new date of in October. Maybe it's a risk but no one knows and I am hoping we are out the other side by oct.
We thought long and hard. The bottom line is no one knows. I just couldn't wait a whole year.
Firstly we felt by Oct it should be over the worse and not in winter when the virus could peak again.

My partner and I want to start a family and he's 44 and I am 36 so I'm very aware we're a bit older.

Unfortunately it seems there will be lock downs going on through the months for perhaps years to come.

For those brides who haven't had to cancel I'd say please don't worry. I had to cancel mine and I was upset and thought it'd be the worse thing ever but it's ok ,it actually is manageable and not the end of the world
If we have to change the date again so be it but it's not worth stressing about. What will be will be

Hi @bravotango, the decision may be taken out of your hands. I'm due to get married early September. The local authority with whom we booked the registrar had originally posted on their website that all weddings up to 31st August would have to be rearranged. Phew.... however it was then further updated last week stating that ALL bookings would now be postponed. I have emailed to clarify as September seems so far off..... but have only had the auto reply at the minute and I know they will be busy.
I'm going to wait and see what happens with regards to the lockdown update expected next week at some point (will definitely be in place for at least another month) and see if there is any indication on when restrictions may ease and then take it from there.

I think you should be ok for October. 🤞

However, not sure travel from overseas will be back to normal by then. ☹️

Personally I would hang fire for a while yet and ask friends/family overseas not to book flights at present. I think there should be plenty of availability at a reasonable price once this has lifted. (Many people are deciding not to travel until 2021 at the earliest.)

Thanks for feedback all.

@Elizadoeslittle19 - have you heard back from your LA yet? Did they indicate that all 2020 bookings would be postponed?

I think we are going to talk to the venue and see if we can postpone until this time next year.

Hi @bravotango - yes I have had a reply, it doesn't say 100% that weddings in September will definitely be postponed. A bit different to the statement on the website although it is 2 different offices.
The reply from the registrars office basically says that all 2020 bookings are subject to being postponed. They are constantly monitoring government advice and the restrictions in place. They are not taking any new bookings for 2020. They are contacting couples in chronological order April, May etc etc (fair enough).
So reading between the lines I'm thinking that it will depend on what happens in the next couple of months with regards to the lockdown and the restrictions (if any) that are lifted for September bookings.
I'm due to pay the final payment for the registrar in early June so I think we will be able to make a definite decision by then.
Its frustrating because there are lots of other little things that can't happen, such as dress fittings, we also were due to get suit measurements this month.
I think I am going to start contacting our suppliers to see what the impact would be of postponing. Also as a lot of couples from April, May, June this year will already have postponed dates might be limited next year. I think it's the not knowing what to do.
I know it's a relatively minor issue given the impact coronavirus has had on many thousands of people and the devastating loss of lives throughout the world.

Thanks for replying.

Yes it's so frustrating isn't it - as you say, in the grand scheme of things it's relatively minor, but it's still a blow.

I've contacted our venue to see about availability for this time next year - hopefully there's something available, and if so we are going to postpone until then.

I’m due to get married mid October and am holding out at the moment.

I don’t see the point in rearranging now for next year as there is no guarantee it will be over by any time. It’s possible it could be OK in October and then restrictions be put back on this time next year after another peak.