Planning your wedding should be one of the most exciting times of your life, leading up to the most important day of your life, followed by a lifetime with your best friend.
Unfortunately, planning your wedding during a global pandemic has completely changed the experience for millions of couples.
So today we want to give you 3 helpful tips on planning your wedding during COVID-19, as well as share some of the ways that ValCinema can help during this difficult season.
Tip #1: Don’t cancel, just postpone!
The average wedding in America usually hosts around 150 guests, give or take. Nowadays, this number is not only impractical, it’s also unsafe. So couples have been forced to significantly decrease the number of guests they invite to their wedding. For those that would prefer not to simply cut their wedding guest count down, they have resorted to two options: Cancel their wedding, or postpone to a later date.
We recognize this is an extremely personal and individual decision that many couples have to make. However, we at ValCinema want to strongly discourage you from cancelling your wedding. With or without the pandemic, your wedding day is an extremely important milestone in your life. Even if it doesn’t look exactly how you originally pictured it, or doesn’t happen on the day you wanted, your wedding is still the day that you make a lifelong commitment to your future spouse, and nobody can take that away from you. Because past the wedding day itself, starting a marriage with your best friend and life partner is what we believe is most important.
From a more functional standpoint, we realize that weddings are a pretty hefty financial investment. You may have already paid a significant amount of deposit money towards vendors or venues, some of which are probably non-refundable. We would hate for you to lose out on those funds, when choosing a later date is still a viable option.
Many vendors and venues will still be able to accommodate a date change, and some are even waiving their date change fees to help make the process easier for you during this season.
It’s important to remember that coronavirus is a temporary season in life. Though it may feel like a very, very long season, it is still a season nonetheless. If we all conduct ourselves responsibly and safely, COVID-19 could be a thing of the past within 6 months, or a year. Or, by the time your wedding rolls around, your state could have opened up guidelines to allow for slightly larger groups of people. Many vendors, ValCinema included, are able to accommodate reschedules 6, 12, or even 18 months out from your original wedding date.
At the end of the day, if you are able to creatively and safely reimagine your wedding on the original date, or postpone your wedding to a later date, we would highly recommend it. The most important aspect of the perfect wedding is not the date or the size, but having that wedding with your perfect partner.
Tip #2: Don’t Stop Planning
This tip can apply to two groups of people - Those who have been planning for a while, as well as those who are just getting started.
We think it’s important to continue planning your wedding no matter where in the process you currently are. If anything, this season may have given you even more time to make plans, save money, or prepare for your new life with your fiance.
There are thousands of couples who are having to reschedule their weddings due to COVID-19, so vendor availability is not quite as simple as it once was. There may be vendors that you feel are the right fit, but if you wait too long to make a decision, your date may become unavailable before you get the chance to move forward with them.
Take this extra time to put some serious thought into who you trust to be a part of your special day. Make an extra effort to research their contract policies to make sure they’ll be flexible if/when COVID-19 throws any more curveballs. But once you find a vendor who is skilled, accommodating, and flexible, book them!
Tip #3: Don’t Skip the Photo + Video Package
And lastly, whatever you do, don’t skip out on a photo + video package if you can help it. The importance of capturing your wedding day doesn’t become less important with COVID-19, but even more important than it was before!
One of the biggest restrictions on COVID-19 weddings is your guest count. Depending on your state restrictions, you may be required to have less than 50 guests at your wedding, sometimes as low as 10.
We have seen some beautiful weddings with as few as 10 guests in attendance, but what about the other 100 or 200 guests that would have attended if possible? You want to be able to share these memories with your friends and family, and a professional photography and videography package
is really the best way to do that!
When it comes to cutting things out because of COVID-19, we would recommend doing everything you can to keep a photo + video package at the top of your priorities.
So How Can ValCinema Help?
At ValCinema, our goal is to be the most flexible vendor that you book for your wedding day! We have always worked hard to be very flexible and easy to work with as a wedding vendor, but in such a difficult season, we’ve worked even harder to make things easier for you as you plan your wedding!
We Can Accomodate Any Date, In Any State
It’s unfortunate that so many of our clients have had to reschedule their wedding date due to coronavirus. However, we’re excited to share that we have successfully rescheduled over 100 weddings since the start of the pandemic.
We have had clients reschedule their date anywhere from just a few months all the way to more than a year out. Some clients have told us that they want to reschedule, but have not chosen a date yet - In this scenario, we’ve been able to place their contract on “standby-status” to allow them the flexibility to select a date that works best for them without losing out on the funds they’ve already put toward their wedding package.
We’ve even had some clients move their weddings to entirely different states, and we’ve been able to make these adjustments without charging any travel fees.
We Will Be At Your Wedding
Many couples have decided not to postpone their wedding, instead opting for a downsized, relocated, or socially distanced wedding. Those couples are sometimes worried their vendors won’t follow through on their promise, or that the quality of their service might not be quite as good.
So for those that plan to still hold their original wedding date, we want you to know that ValCinema has continued to capture these weddings with no problems! Our videographers are still on the job, and still capturing weddings all over the country. We require our videographers to accommodate your social-distancing preferences, whether that be wearing a mask, or staying six feet apart, or anything you feel will keep you and your loved ones safe, healthy, and happy. We have dozens of COVID-19 wedding videos and photos in our portfolio now, and if you plan to move forward with your wedding, you can count on ValCinema to show up and capture your day!
You’ll Still Get The Highest Quality for the Lowest Price
And lastly, at the end of the day, saving you money while still giving you a high quality wedding package is the goal at ValCinema. This has been so valuable to our clients under normal circumstances, but even more valuable during a season like coronavirus.
Whatever decisions you and your loved ones make, we will be there to capture your story with style and heart.
So if you have more questions about how ValCinema can help with your wedding during these difficult times, you can use our website to get in touch with us at ValCinema.com.
Stay safe, stay informed, stay creative, and stay joyful.
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