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All week long, we’ve been hearing rumors of epic snowstorm Jonas’s imminent Saturday strike. For most of us, this means nothing more than extra grocery shopping on the way home from work tomorrow and an impending Netflix binge-a-thon. But what about the people who were supposed to get married this weekend?
Ironically, the dreamlike snowy ambiance that often excites couples about a winter wedding is often the same element that can destroy one. When working weddings this time of year, planners have to prepare for all eventualities, including the biggest: what if it snows too much?
The most efficient way to handle this possibility is to acknowledge and prepare for it from the very beginning. In working with brides set on a winter date, make sure to mention this possibility in your initial conversations in order to gauge the family’s attitude towards it. For example, if the wedding was supposed to take place on a heated balcony and could be halted by excessive snow, ask if it would be a complete downgrade to move the ritual behind the veranda’s closed doors. If a snowed-out ceremony and last minute relocation is a complete disaster in the family’s eyes, you need to speak with your vendors about rescheduling policies. If you don’t include said strategies in your contract, you could get stuck with crazy cancellation fees if you try to swap dates because of snow.
Otherwise, many photographers, DJs, etc. are flexible and perfectly willing to work around issues like this. Just be sure to establish this possibility from the beginning and to communicate with all relevant contributors in the days before the wedding to coordinate any changes in the plan.
Above all, the attitude with which these potential setbacks are approached will make or break the bride’s experience. From the start, make sure the bride sees the possible reschedule as an equally appealing event, not a dreadful subpar. Include information about a pending snow-out date with your guests and share it on the wedding website. The more the Plan B is made to feel like an equivalent Plan A, the less it will seem like a letdown when the time comes to execute it.
Want to learn more? The New York Institute of Art and Design offers online wedding planning courses that can teach you how to plan and execute the perfect wedding. Request your free course catalog today!
