Wedding Decisions During A Crisis

​Hi friends, if you are feeling overwhelmed right now...I can totally relate to your situation. 
At one time you are looking forward to meeting and celebrating with all your friends, family and colleagues, not to mention all the awesome wedding festivities...and within a few days everything has gone topsy-turvy.

No worries, friend. I'm here for you.
Below you'll find answers to your questions and help gain some clarity.

Your most burning question probably is:
Should I cancel or postpone or just have a very private wedding?

Postpone
For everyone involved, the best option is to postpone. It is less inconvenient than canceling the wedding altogether. Letting everyone know via phone calls or emails (with a read receipt) will guarantee that everyone has received the news and the new dates.

Cancel
If you feel that there is no choice but to cancel, then I recommend  that you immediately inform your planner, all the vendors, any hotel bookings, travel arrangements for honeymoon, etc. Depending upon how close you are to the wedding date, you may be able to get few refunds. 
Make sure to call all the invitees to let them know about the cancellation. Have a family member help you with this.

Private ceremony
Finally, there's  the option of having a very private ceremony. I'd suggest to doing things just like you've canceled the wedding...with the addition of modified preparations for the now-much smaller wedding.

We'll lose the deposit paid to wedding vendors if we cancel. Is it okay to ask for a refund?

Here's the bad news.
Yes, there is a high chance that you'll lose those funds.

First, I'd suggest going through your copy of the signed Contract with each vendor. Check their refund policy.
Next, check if the vendor has already done any work. For example; wedding planners start  planning everything several months before the wedding day. Your henna artist probably has already drafted out and finalized the bridal designs with you. You probably had consultations with the vendors which were included in the bridal services. 

Also take into consideration that the Wedding industry is one of the worst hit by Covid-19. Your vendors most probably have many clients asking for a refund, which could financially cripple any small business. 

Lastly, while taking all the above factors into consideration, contact the vendor.
Yes, it's okay to ask for a refund from your vendors. Most vendors will work with you. These are unprecedented times and we all are in this together.

What about my custom bridal lehenga? We can't have a wedding and I have no use for it anymore.

These are unprecedented times, agreed. But weddings get canceled for other reasons too.
Contact your designer/boutique to check if they have started the work on it. 
If there is no way to cancel it, check with the store. See if the boutique can put it up for sale at a discounted price. Out of which they keep a percentage you both agree upon.
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I'd love to know if this helped you in any way. Did you take a different route that worked better for you may be? I hope you'll share your experience with me!

-Manasi
ManasisArt 
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