I wanted to share a quick note on the current state of things here at Lindsay Rae Design, and what you can expect from us over the coming months. I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions, and hopefully I can provide some answers here.
Photo by my dear friend, Britt Smith (Britt Smith Photography)
First and foremost - I hope that you and your family, wherever you might be, are doing well despite the craziness in the world. My husband, son and I all relocated from Brooklyn to Atlanta a few days ago and so far everyone here is healthy. All of our LRD team has checked in healthy so far, so I’m very thankful for that.
And while we’re missing the familiar streets and playgrounds of Brooklyn, we’re thankful to be near (but still 6ish feet from) family and friends here in Atlanta as we get everything sorted out.
As a small business owner this last month has been perhaps one of the most stressful times I can remember.
I’ve been trying to put myself in the shoes of the couples whose dreams are being upended by this crisis. As hard as I try, I still can’t fathom how I would have responded if someone would have told me that all the hard work and planning I had put into my wedding would have to be put on hold indefinitely. Anger. Sadness. Hope! Frustration. Overwhelmed (for a second time). The last thing I would want to do at that point in the process is go back to my vendors and venue and ask them to put things on hold, plus figure out when in the future we’d actually be able to host a large format wedding.
My heart goes out to every couple in that situation now. At the same time, my heart goes out to every small business owner impacted by this situation.
Because on one hand, I run a small business that does a limited number of events each year. That means I can put my heart and soul into planning and executing couples’ events to perfection. Every event and every couple I work with is vital to my business being around another year, another month, another day.
At the same time, I’ve put years of sweat, tears and sometimes blood into building a sustainable business. I worry about thin margins every night. But I’m so proud of the brand and the team that we’ve built here, and I will do everything I can to maintain my business so I can retain my team and continue to make beautiful events happen.
That means right now I’m doing my best to be empathetic to couples’ needs while balancing the future of my business. I’ll be checking in with all of the couples who have contracted with me, and working with them on a case-by-case basis to come up with equally beneficial solutions.
What to know about rescheduling your wedding
In general, if you need to postpone your event:
Try to be empathetic to the vendors you’ve hired. While a deposit is valuable to you, it’s ten times more important to a small business whose new work is steadily declining right now. This is money we’ll use to ensure we’re still in business when your rescheduled event does happen—because it will happen! Don’t despair!
Don’t discount the work that’s been done. Remember that a big chunk of the work that I (and many other vendors) do happens before a contract is ever signed. So even though a deposit has not yet been used to purchase flowers, a large portion of it goes toward my time and energy that went into building your vision and giving you the confidence to sign a contract with me.
Consider something small for now, and bigger later. The direction we’ve all been given is to avoid gatherings of 10 or more. Well, to be “official” a ceremony very often requires fewer than 10 people to be present. You can go here to see the marriage witnesses requirements by state. So, if you can’t wait to tie the knot now, get creative. You could invite friends and family to join remote via Zoom and still have their love and support on your wedding day.
(Sidenote: I’ve also read that some municipalities have offered to waive their fees for marriage licenses. So you might be able to save a few bucks.)
When should you try to reschedule your wedding or event?
If your wedding or event is any time in the next three months (April, May, or June) you should first revisit your contract with your venue and read all the fine print. In many cases though, venues and vendors will work with you to amend their contracts to help where they can. These are extraordinary times and call for extraordinary responses. Businesses are all having to find creative ways to stay afloat and still provide customers with a great experience.
Check-in with your venue now and if it’s looking like you need to reschedule your event, inquire when their next available date is. For those of you in busier markets, rescheduling will be difficult and may push your event date out to next year, or even 2022. As I mentioned above, you might want to consider a very small wedding ceremony now, to make things official, and then look to host a bigger celebration with everyone at a later date.
And you might need to open your mind to creative solutions for a reschedule date. Sure, we’d all like to have a killer party on a Friday or Saturday night, but if you love your venue and don’t want to wait until two years from now to celebrate, let's have that killer party on a weeknight!
These are uncertain times for sure. Please know that I am personally invested in your event and will be making every effort possible to present you with solutions should you need to reschedule. And above all else, I’m hoping you and your family are able to rest and stay healthy during this time so that we can come together and celebrate in the near future!