You’ve asked and we’ve answered! Welcome to your weekly column Happily Ever After With Shikima Hinds.

Hinds will each week spotlight all the questions you’ve been asking since COVID-19 was added to the guest list!

This COVID-19 public health crisis is disrupting millions of once-in-a-lifetime events – the wedding.

We could all feel the heartaches of brides when our prime minister announced the new restriction on public gatherings and that there should be no gathering in any public space of over 10 persons. Including weddings to follow the 10-person rule.

This means a change of plans for weddings that were scheduled to happen within the next few weeks.

There are so many factors surrounding COVID-19 and your wedding, especially since the situation changes daily. The impact that it will have on you really depends on your wedding date.

Here are a few things you should keep in mind or look out for with regard to the coronavirus and its impact on your wedding day:

• Step one: Keep calm!

• Follow the news closely. Keep properly informed so that you don’t do anything drastic without accurate and up-to-date information.

• Speak with your vendors. You need to reach out to all of your vendors and ask what their cancellation and postponement policies are. You should have (hopefully) signed a contract, so you’ll need to sit down and revisit this document. This will help you to get a better understanding on how to handle the situation.

I’m sure most vendors are willing to be flexible with couples by allowing them to postpone or reschedule. Be gracious with them, they want to do right by their couples and their businesses.

Your vendors will help you decide the best plan of action moving forward. Having a wedding planner is an asset, as they can help you navigate the changes.

• Keep your guests informed. To avoid having to constantly handle questions from family members and wedding guests, keep them in the know. Send them e-mails or notifications on your wedding website.

Where Do You Stand?

You need to know the answers to some important questions to help with the process. There are a couple of questions the wedding couple need to ask themselves to help with making decisions:

1. Is your guest list over 20+?

2. Are you willing to plan for a smaller guest count?

3. How many of your guests are going to have to travel to attend your wedding?

4. Are you willing to consider a live stream as an alternative?

5. How important is the wedding? Do you want to get married no matter what, with a small ceremony with only immediate family? Just skip the reception?

So, What Now?

If You’re Just Starting to Plan or Thinking About Planning

While all of this is uncertain, it’s natural to have a million “what-if’s” when you’ve just starting to plan your special day.

Here’s a tip — Don’t make any major decisions. Just hold off on making any big decisions for a few weeks, especially if your wedding is later in the year or 2021.

What happens if you need to reschedule your wedding?

Make the choice that feels right to you. If you decide you want to move forward with postponing, you’ll want to contact your venue first in order to find out what other dates they have available, then reach out to your vendors to ensure that they too are available. You, however, need to be prepared because some of your vendors may be unavailable. Make a priority list to see what are the most important elements of the wedding for you.

Do you not want COVID-19 to stop your wedding?

You can still get married on your chosen previously planned date, just with a smaller number of persons. You don’t have to feel like you have to put your life on hold… you can just put the celebration party or reception on hold.

A special note:

If your vendor has started sourcing custom elements for your wedding, purchasing food items, floral arrangements or if your planner has spent months planning your wedding, please remember that they have incurred costs and time, for which they need to cover their business expenses. If they are unable to give you a courtesy refund if you need cancel their service, please be understanding.

Remember, love always wins.

Shikima Hinds

Managing Director

Tel #: 876-925-4285

email: shikima@shikimahinds.com

www.shikimahinds.com