Sarah will be marrying Rich on 21th June 2020 at Tikitano Beach, Marbella, Spain. Click here to read all Sarah’s planning posts to date.
THREE FACTS: (1) Sarah knew Rich was the one when he brought a gift of dog treats for her toy poodle Nuala along to their fourth date! (2) They are crafting an amazing destination wedding weekend in Marbella with beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended vendor optimum weddings as their planner. (3) Sarah is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!
When you plan a wedding you always expect there to be bumps along the way, such as family dilemmas, issues with the band, the logistics of an abroad wedding, and so on. What you don’t plan for is a worldwide pandemic three months before you are meant to say “I do”!
The Coronavirus has become a talking point like no other. It is the only thing that people want to talk about, and when it is mentioned in the same sentence as your wedding then it is never a good scenario!
I started off a little anxious about it but then I decided to be positive because it is out of my control and I can’t worry about something which I cannot control. However, that is all well and good until you have people calling you and asking you what your contingency plan is and if you are going to postpone the wedding!
A Contingency Plan
The truth is, that there is no contingency plan. It is not like planning for a scenario where it might rain and so you need to consider hiring a marquee. If you have booked an entire wedding abroad and you are three months away from the wedding, then failing booking a backup wedding in London, there is not much you can do.
Also, what is to say that London might not be banning public gatherings and events by then?
Don’t get me wrong, we did think about the option of a backup plan in London, but that would mean losing all of our deposits and money spent on one of the weddings, which is not only impractical but financially a huge drain.
Thankfully we have a wonderful wedding planner (Dyana from optimum weddings) who has been keeping us informed of the situation in Spain. The venue (Tikitano) has said that if they are forced to close then we will be given the options of an alternative date with no fee for changing.
However, if they remain open and we chose to cancel then that is our choice and we will likely lose a significant amount of money. This makes sense, it is not dissimilar to airlines and hotels after all.
Deadlines Vs Corona
A week ago, we received our stunning invitations from Simcha Invitations and I couldn’t have been more excited! It made it seem so real and so near! Fast forward two weeks and we have another dilemma… the invitations are due to go out this weekend and it is quite literally the worst timing!
How can we ask people if they are flying to Spain for our wedding when the majority of people have gone into a complete meltdown about leaving their houses?
We thought long and hard about what to do. Should we postpone sending the invitations out in the hope that the virus situation improves and people are less scared? Ideally yes, this would be the best option, but it is not practical unfortunately.
When you have an abroad wedding there are so many elements that require advance planning, such as shipping kosher wines and knowing the number of coaches to book for transport to and from the venue.
Thankfully around 80% of our guests have already booked their flights and accommodation and so we are hoping that they will still come and just take the view that it is still three months away and so there is every chance that it will be absolutely fine.
Ultimately, we have decided to send the invitations as planned because truthfully, we need to know numbers by mid-April and Coronavirus doesn’t change the deadlines!
Penultimate Payments
Paying large sums of money can be stressful at the best of times, but when you are paying them with no guarantee that the wedding will be happening, it is even more stressful. We have recently received the invoices for the band and the venue setup, and mum’s first reaction was why are we doing this now, can we not wait?
The answer is no. Businesses don’t stop just because of this virus. We have to proceed as planned and hope for the best. I had a call with Lauren from the band (One Entertainment) the other evening and actually it was the most positive and reassuring conversation that I have had. They aren’t worried and they are sure it will be fine.
Sometimes it helps to speak to your vendors because they have seen major crises before, and whilst the threat of this virus is far worse than anything we have seen for a generation, the vendors have a more practical approach.
The Show Must Go On
So where does this leave you if you are planning an abroad wedding for this summer?
Well, I have taken the approach that I hope it will be ok, because practically speaking there is every possibility (dare I say likelihood!) that with the warm weather approaching in the Mediterranean, that this pesky Covid-19 (aka now known as “The Wedding Crasher” to me!) will die out as it does not survive well in the heat.
The truth is that you can plan for every possibility and we thought we had done just that, but we definitely did not foresee this happening. However, it does not mean that it is game over.
Realistically, unless Marbella is on lockdown and travel has been banned on June 21st, then I fully intend to marry the love of my life in my dream location, surrounded by the people who I love.
You cannot control what might or might not happen, so thinking about it over and over again is only going to make you more stressed. So, focus on the positives and if (and that is a big if), it comes to your big day and it can’t happen then there is always going to be another time and it doesn’t change the fact that you are marrying the person who you love.
So, for the next three months I have adopted “the show must go on” as my new positive mental approach and I encourage everyone else to do the same, because one way or another, we are all going to get married and it will be perfect.
Click here to read all Sarah’s planning posts to date.
Sarah and Rich’s Wedding Vendors booked so far:
Venue – Tikitano Beach
Photographer – Nani De Perez
Wedding Planner – optimum weddings {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Videographer – Antonio De Perez
Stationery – Simcha Invitations
Chuppah singer – JJ Hodari
Band – One Entertainment
Hair + Makeup – Alex Harrocks and Nicola McGeorge
Welcome Party – at Besaya Beach
Toastmaster – Jamie Paskin
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