how to manage the organization of a wedding

As the wedding season has just started, the epidemic of Coronavirus is upsetting the organization of civil, religious and secular ceremonies. How to manage the cancellation and postponement of your marriage? But also, what impact for the wedding industry? Future married and professional tell us.

Spring traditionally marks the beginning of the wedding season, but this year the Covid-19 crisis is disrupting the calendar. In the middle of a period of confinement, the newlyweds of 2020 and the wedding professionals see the organization of the D-Day completely upset and find themselves for the moment in the dark.

How do they cope with the situation and the cancellation of their marriage? Meeting with those concerned.

The happiest day of their lives postponed

The newlyweds share the same feelings: worry, stress and great disappointment, all the more when you know that a marriage is generally prepared a year in advance.

Charlene was supposed to get married on May 2 in Lorraine. But as the COVID-19 crisis is disrupting life in France and around the world, this date had to be postponed. "We waited a bit before seeing whether or not to postpone the date of our marriage. In view of the evolution of the virus in France we finally moved the date to September 26" she explains.

Pauline, meanwhile, was finalizing her decoration purchases for the wedding she planned to celebrate on April 18 when she learned that some marriages were starting to be canceled because of the Coronavirus. "We laughed and hoped it didn't happen to us!" she says. But, less than a month before D-Day, this date seems more and more improbable. "I am told of postponement over the winter months, from November to February …" she admits a little disappointed, preferring to wait until the end of the situation to reorganize something.

"It's hard to tell ourselves that we are going to have to postpone our marriage (as with many, we devote an enormous amount of time, energy and especially money)" declare Jean-Pierre and Mélanie, whose marriage was scheduled for May 9.

A heavy blow for the bride and groom who understand, however, that their marriage is not the most important at the time of the coronavirus pandemic. "I try to tell myself that the party will only be more beautiful after that and I hope that all the people I love can be present on the new date" said Pauline.

Jean-Pierre and Mélanie also try to take the situation with philosophy: "As they say, older marriage happy marriage! So let's let things happen when the time is right."

Find a new date and make some concessions

The best solution for the newlyweds therefore remains to postpone their marriage. But not so easy to find a new date on which all providers are available. "We had to make some concessions like not having the DJ we wanted. At the moment, we just have a service provider who does not answer us, all the others are accommodating" explains Charlène, who already has a new date scheduled for September 26.

For Elodie Villemus, entrepreneur and wedding planner, "It is important to contact providers quickly to agree with them on their availability to move this very important life event". The first thing to do is therefore to contact the place of marriage to find a new date, in the coming months, weekdays or another season. "It is also necessary to plan with a wedding at the end of the season, September and October are very pretty months with still nice temperatures. The autumn wedding is also very trendy and offers beautiful colors and different materials a little heavier like velvet which also has a very nice effect " advise the professional.

According to a survey carried out with 100 industry professionals by Clémentine Marchal, at the head of the blog specialized in marriage Le Blog de Madame C, 64% of marriage postponements are made in 2020 while 50% will be in 2021. This is the case of Jean-Pierre and Mélanie, who will finally marry on April 10, 2021. "This will give us time to modify details, and Madame is in the perspective of perhaps changing her dress …" they relativize.

If the bride and groom can count on the compassion and support of wedding professionals, certain details such as invitations, personalized decorations, wedding rings engraved with the date and the dated guest book seem difficult to reimburse. "We have 2 children, 14 months and 4 years old, I don't know either if their outfits will be adapted and will still fit them" adds Pauline.

The impacted wedding industry

For the wedding industry also, the situation turns out to be complex. "We were impacted from the start of the health crisis being in the field of events, the ban on groups of more than 100 people having been put in place very early in the pre-containment process" explains Elodie Villemus. "It’s a tough test in every way, humanly, economically. This situation is really worrying … "

For Jeanne Source, designer of wedding dresses, the main consequence represents the closure of its showrooms in Paris and in Provence, following the measures taken by the Government. It thus specifies: "We managed to organize ourselves with our team so that everyone can continue to work on the dresses of our future brides at home, in order to respect this confinement. We are in the process of creating the new 2021 Collection at Atelier, and we are of course continuing to advance on its development for launch this summer. "

All nevertheless advise the postponement of marriage rather than the cancellation, which would be financially disastrous, both for the bride and groom as for the organizers and providers. "The survival of the event industry is at stake, and this will ensure that the newlyweds of 2020 have a real chance of having the wedding of their dreams according to the budget (and perhaps even with negotiable rates because the end of the season) in 2020. " says the wedding planner.

"All the dresses ordered will be ready for our brides' weddings anyway" assures Jeanne Source. The designer remains optimistic: "Most weddings planned for May are currently postponed to summer / fall. We are waiting to know more like everyone else to know when to reopen our Showrooms to receive new future brides and hope that this is the case. by May! "

How to organize a secular ceremony?


Video by Juliette Le Peillet