Thanks to the coronavirus, people across the world are struggling to plan events of any sort.
In Hollywood, major events like Met Gala, the Olympics and major concert tours are being postponed indefinitely. Some are moving dates to the fall, when the pandemic will likely run its course, while others, like the Olympic games, are being rescheduled for next year.
Unfortunately, this also means Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, Lala Kent and Randall Emmett and potentially Princess Beatrice are having to press the brakes on their fairytale weddings.
But the impact of coronavirus extends to every day people, too. Brides, grooms and their wedding planners are scrambling to figure out whether their big day will actually happen on the day they originally planned.
Luckily, celebrity wedding planner Mindy Weiss, who frequently works with the Kardashians, Ciara and Russell Wilson, and Justin and Hailey Bieber, is telling E! News her next-steps for any love birds who are questioning what to do in this challenging time.
To find out what advice the celebrity wedding planner has, check out our exclusive Q&A below!
E!: Have you ever dealt with a postponed or cancelled wedding before? How has this pandemic affected you?
MW: I've never had to deal with something like this. In 2008, you know when everything crashed, nobody cancelled but their budgets became different just based on everybody's different reaction to 2008. But with this, it was new territory for me but we knew what had to be done and we immediately started trying to rebook. Because we have all our parties—I still have one party on Memorial Day weekend, we haven't let go of that just yet. May, everybody is questioning May!
E!: Do you think postponing spring weddings to the fall is a smart move?
MW: I think it's very safe. It's such a good time of year. Part of the problem actually, brides and grooms are very attached to their wedding date. And to get their mind set on a whole different month, season, date and in some cases year, we have to get over that emotional hurdle. So it took a little while for people to commit. And with them taking a little while to commit, and everybody else looking for new dates, we were losing [rebooking] dates so there it became somewhat of a challenge. But I only have one job left that is not placed that we have had to postpone—we can't seem to find the right date. Everybody was traveling, it was in Denver the first week in April. So, it becomes an inconvenience not only for the bride, the families but for all the travelers. But the airlines have been somewhat forgiving, but not very.
E!: What's the biggest challenge the coronavirus poses?
MW: Rebooking the vendors and finding a date where everybody's happy. I've been really lucky with the vendors. But here's the issue: Say the photographer is not available that [new] date and they're already committed, then do they just lose all that money? So that's where the problem's been. Because in everyone's contract you're really responsible for the deposit and the full payment if you don't rebook.
E!: Weddings are normally stressful but under the current climate in this world, what tips for brides do you have on how to just stay calm?
MW: I'm a very calm person anyway so I can find a sense of humor in anything, but I have to be very careful here because no one is seeing any humor in this, which I understand. But number one, you have absolutely no control over this. So you have to mourn the date, I really feel like if you're giving up that date, people have to mourn it. I do have some couples who are getting married on that day and then continue to have the big celebration and another wedding in front of all their family and friends, which is kind of really cool. I have three weddings like that. Zoom has been everything for everyone.
E!: Some couples are getting married virtually?
MW: Yes. They're getting married virtually. The couples are getting married but they're virtually bringing in their closest family and friends to watch.
E!: Who ordains it?
MW: This last case, the Rabbi Zoomed in! Isn't that cool? These are people who, there's something with the numbers. There's something with the dates and they're committed to celebrating that date. In that case. Others have just changed [their date].
E!: How do you recommend the couple tell their guests about the new date, especially if family and friends are asking 100 questions, they're already stressed—what's the best strategy?
MW: If you have postponed it and you have another date you need to let people know immediately. If you do not have another date but you know you're going to postpone it, then you should send out either a paperless post, a text, 'due to the coronavirus… more info to follow…'
E!: What about the monogrammed items with the original date, how do you make that work? I think the couple knows they're going to lose money at this point but is that salvageable?
MW: Well anything engraved, if you go to a good engraver, you can actually redo the engraving. But if the napkins have the date—look, if you have a great sense of humor, I personally the night before at the rehearsal dinner, I would cross out the date and write in the new one. I mean, that's funny. To me that's funny. But you will probably lose money. Also, the stationers, the printing companies have been quite generous. They're printing cards for cost, you know your change of date card. Everybody's kind of kicking in. Even florists who have ordered flowers, the ones who came really quick have been giving them away and trying to make everything work. I thought that was pretty great too. The monogram stuff, that's a great question but I think you have to reorder if you're a traditionalist because the new date will become your day. These people have dreamt of their weddings for a long time and some people do not see any humor in this and just want to forget about that date and move on. But the guests have truly been very understanding and feel bad.
E!: Are there any other tips or things you've learned along the way that could be helpful for brides or couples right now?
MW: I think getting on things quickly. Don't wait unless you're planning to go into 2021. I would try to get the day and vendors [sorted] as quickly as possible because there's thousands of people also looking. I think it's a great way, even in quarantine, to be with your partner. This is a test in itself, this is better than therapy. This is compromising, living, going through a tragedy together, a challenge, a tragedy. This is something that, this is a test. This is a test for everybody so if you can come through this on the other end you'll always have a story. This is going to be your story! Like, 'Oh, remember back in 2020…?' But after awhile no one's going to want to hear about it anymore, they're going to be looking forward to your new date, to your wedding, to celebrate—move on. It's time to move on and get to the happy place.