No couple wants to deliver the news that their wedding has been postponed. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many are having to do just that. It can be tricky to navigate the best ways to inform guests of this change while ensuring that it doesn’t take up all your time or too much of your money. Luckily, there are many different avenues you can travel down to communicate effectively—and in many cases, cleverly.
Items to Consider When Notifying Your Guests
There are a few key factors to weigh when it comes to how you’ll notify your guests of a wedding date change.
How Far in the Future Is Your Wedding Date?
The first thing to consider is how close your original wedding date is to the present. If it’s months away, you can use methods that may be a bit slower in getting the information to your guests. However, if your wedding is rapidly approaching in the next few weeks or month, you’ll want to use a quicker method to give your loved ones the news.
How Tech Savvy Are Your Guests?
You’ll definitely want to consider just how much your guests use technology before you decide on the method of communication. If many of them don’t use computers, an electronic notification may not be the way to go.
You may want to start a short list of guests whom you know aren’t very tech-savvy so that you can ensure they receive notice of the date change in the mail or via a personal phone call so that they’re in the loop.
What if a New Wedding Date Is TBD?
If you know you’re postponing the wedding but a new date is still up in the air, you should still let guests know that you’re not moving forward with your originally scheduled date. This allows guests to alter any travel plans they had for your original date and to adjust their schedules accordingly.
Notifying Guests of the Change
There are a lot of different ways you can notify your guests of the change of date. Chances are that you’ll use a few different methods to do so.
Start with Word of Mouth
Start by telling your inner circle of the change. This will include immediate family members and anyone who’s in the wedding party. They can help spread the message to other people who they know who are invited. Feel free to do this by text, email, or phone call.
If your wedding is in the coming weeks, as referenced above, use this method to tell all guests. While having to text, call, or email all guests will take a bit of time, it’s necessary to let everyone know the news in a timely manner. You can enlist in the help of parents, siblings, and wedding party members to help you get this job done.
Evite
Consider sending all of your guests an Evite in order to get the word out about the new date. This is more fun and personalized than a regular email and is a simple and economically friendly way to get the job done.
Wedding Website
You should absolutely update your wedding website to include information on the new date as soon as you can, regardless of what other methods you use to let guests know of the change. (Having a wedding website is somewhat of an insurance policy as it’s another good resource for guests to check details, including the date, of your big day.) Your website should also include any applicable information about canceling hotel and travel plans.
Updated Invitations
If you have ample time before your event, you may want to send updated invitations or “change the date” cards to your guests. This is a pricier option, so that’s something to keep in mind, but it’s a nice way to inform guests of the change. You can even take a light-hearted tone on the situation in the invite, such as “Our wedding went viral!” or “It’s not quaranTIME for us to tie the knot, yet.” Work with your original stationery designer to see what your options are.
You can also send another save the date and title it “Save our NEW date.” Be sure to direct guests to your wedding website and include any updated details you have for your new date on the communication.
How Not to Notify Guests of the Change
There are a few ways that may be a bit of a faux pas when it comes to sharing the news of a new wedding date.
Only Using Word of Mouth
It can seem pretty inconsiderate and impersonal to rely solely on word of mouth to alert all of your guests of the date change. While using that method is a good first step, follow it up with some kind of written communication, whether it be via email or physical mail.
Posting the Change to Social Media
While getting the message out on social media may be a tempting and simple method of mass communication, it’s not exactly polite to do so. That’s because, most likely, not all of your followers or friends on these sites are invited to your wedding. (Or not all your guests may even use social media enough to get the message.)
Use these tips to let your loved ones know of the changes to your day and you’ll be one step closer to your new wedding date.
The post How to Update Guests of a Wedding Date Change appeared first on Weddingbee.
* This article was originally published here