Wedding postponement cards: Do you really need new invitations?

In these unprecedented and uncertain times of global pandemic, Coronavirus and Covid 19, many couples have, sadly, found themselves postponing their wedding.

We‘ve been working closely with our clients to navigate the stationery challenges that this poses.  Understandably there have been lots of questions: 


How do I tell my guests that my wedding is postponed?

I’ve moved my wedding, do I need new invitations?

I postponed from March to August, I may need to postpone again.  What do I do?

I had to postpone my wedding but my place cards and table plan were already printed, should I have new ones?


In this blog I will try and answer some of the most common concerns and give some guidance as to the best course of action, stationery wise, if you are postponing your wedding.  Above all else, it is vital that you keep your guests updated about any changes as quickly and efficiently as possible.

As with all things wedding, there are no right or wrong ways to do things. Do whatever is going to work best for you and your guests. Most importantly though, talk to your stationer (along with all your wedding suppliers) and keep them informed of your plan changes.

Change the Date

There are, essentially, three ways you can let your guests know about your change of plans:

  1. Digitally
    Share your news by email, text, message, WhatsApp or sharing on social media. 
  2. Phone
    A good old fashioned phone call is also acceptable, and probably well received in these tricky times, particularly for older family members.
  3. Post
    Consider sending simple printed cards only to those guests that you can’t reach by other methods, this will keep your costs down.  

For our clients we have been offering a free Change the Date image, with printed cards being produced at a very reasonable rate.  If you’d like either an image or printed cards made get in touch for details.


If you are able to set a new date immediately, then let your guests know with wording such as:

Change The Date
We have postponed our wedding,
this is our new date
11th April 2021
Jo & Richard

You can follow this with either:
Formal invitation to follow
(if you have not yet sent invitations)
or
Please reply to confirm you are still able to attend 
07070 123456 or email ourwedding@email.com

(if you have already sent invitations)

It would also be a good idea to confirm whether or not the time and venue have changed as well as the date.

If you need to postpone but are not able to immediately set a new date, then send a simple postponement message:

We have decided to postpone our wedding to a future date.
We’ll be in touch soon with all the details.
Jo & Richard

Do you need new invitations?

What you do next will depend on what stage you are with your save the dates and invitations for your original wedding date.

You’ve sent save the date but not your invitations:

When you have confirmed all the new wedding details send invitations as usual, three to six months before the big day.

You’ve had your wedding invitations printed, but you haven’t sent them yet (for day and/or evening):

Check if your invitations can either be amended or if an extra card can be included detailing the new arrangements.  This could be the most economical option if it’s just the date changing but venue, time etc remaining the same.  Check the details such as reply by dates and include new instructions as required.


TOP TIP
If you have asked your guests to reply by sending back a postal reply card, give them another option too e.g. phone or email, in case they are not able to get out to a postbox.


If you are changing other details for your wedding, (e.g. venue or time) you may need new invitations to avoid confusion.

You should send your invitations three to six months before the new wedding date.

rustic invitation cards
If you have pocketfold invitations it’s easy to add a little extra card

You have already sent your invitations (for day and/or evening):

If you have already sent your invitations, you will need to confirm that guests can still make your new date. When you send your change the date, add a line asking for a confirmation that they can still attend. Also confirm that the venue and time remain the same or, if they don’t, include the new details.  

If everything about the wedding has changed (date, venue, time) it may be worth sending out new invitations along with a request for a new reply.

If you are postponing your wedding for more than six to eight months, send a simple change the date immediately. Follow up with a reminder card asking for confirmation of attendance nearer the time (3 to 6 months before).  You may need a few extra invitations if you want to invite additional guests, or if some of those on your original guest list can no longer make it.

What if you have to postpone for a second time?

Frustratingly, when lockdown was announced nobody knew just how long the restrictions would be in place.  A number of our couples postponed their spring weddings and quickly started planning for August or September.  Some of them are now having to postpone further, looking at dates in 2021 and beyond.  It can’t be helped, it’s beyond all of our control so just roll with it and make the most of what’s to come.  Follow the same steps as we’ve outlined above, keep talking, keep smiling and believe in ‘third time lucky’.

What about your on the day stationery?

If your wedding was postponed with very short notice you may already have your order of service, menus, place cards, table plan & wedding signage printed with the date.  Again, keep in touch with your stationer and discuss what can be done. There may be opportunities to amend some or all of the items. Or, you could consider using them anyway. A lovely little nod to your original wedding date, it will certainly be a talking point!


I hope this has been useful and will help you to figure out what stationery you need if you are postponing your wedding.  Some of our lovely Welsh wedding business friends have also written blogs about postponing. 

Go check out Rachel’s (Rachel Burgess Bridal Boutique) ideas for marking your original date. Anne-Marie (Petal Power Wales) has covered all the essentials for keeping all your suppliers in the loop. Oldwalls Gower have some fantastic tips on how to plan your wedding in isolation.

Sadly, we can’t welcome you to our little studio during this lockdown period. Fear not, we’re always happy to chat over messenger, email or good old fashioned telephone.  If you need any help or advice about your wedding invitations or stationery please just get in touch.

Things are changing so quickly at the moment, the best way to keep up to date with us is via our social media.

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