How to postpone a wedding

April 24, 2020

Use this how to postpone a wedding guide to help you navigate the challenging process of postponing your wedding. You’ll find wording, steps and advice.

How to postpone a wedding

Postponing a wedding date is a hard decision to make. You’ve been dreaming of your wedding day for ages. Pushing it back to a later date is frustrating and disheartening.

Please note that I am available to answer any questions you have, and to help you through this unwanted process.

Obviously this is a decision that you would rather avoid. However, if you do choose to postpone your wedding date, you probably have a few questions:

  • Can you reschedule a wedding?
  • How do you postpone a wedding?
  • How do you change the wedding date with your venue & vendors?
  • What wording do you use when postponing a wedding?
  • How do you notify guests of a postponed wedding?
  • And how do you do all of this without adding more stress and havoc to what should be one of the most beautiful days in your life?

I’m here to answer those questions, and to be a resource for you. Let’s begin.

How to postpone a wedding

Can you reschedule a wedding?

The simple answer is yes. You can postpone your wedding and choose a different date to host it. However, there are some caveats to this when it comes to vendors such as the wedding venue, the florists, caterer and even your photographer. Each of those vendors will need to agree to a new wedding date before it can officially be rescheduled. It’s more than changing a date, it’s changing dates for an entire group of businesses and unfortunately, it’s a little more complicated than simply announcing a date change.

Here’s how to handle that:

How do you postpone a wedding?

  1. If you have wedding insurance or a wedding planner, talk to them first.
  2. Select a new date that works for your most important guests — you, your soon-to-be spouse, close family and friends.
  3. Contact each wedding vendor individually to ask for the date change.
  4. Book new vendors to fill in the gaps for vendors who were unable to reschedule to your new, selected date.
  5. Send wedding postponement cards to your guests to notify them of the date change.
How to postpone a wedding

Changing the wedding date with your venue & vendors

When it comes to approaching your team of wedding vendors, it’s important that you follow the below guidelines.

  1. Approach the conversations with kindness and transparency. They’re committed to helping you create a dream wedding day — that’s why you hired them, but they may not necessarily be available or required by their contracts to change the date.
  2. Check with your wedding venue first. If they can’t reschedule, you’ll want to confirm the new location with the other vendors you talk to.
  3. Refer to each vendor’s individual contract. Check the terms for cancellation, rescheduling and/or service retainers. Be aware of these clauses before you have the conversation about rescheduling. Keep in mind that although contracts may seem intimidating, they were originally put in place to protect your wedding date. Changing your date can affect other clients and may not be an option with every vendor.
  4. Take it on a case-by-case basis. Some vendors don’t carry over retainers for the new year or charge fees to postpone or reschedule. Ask your vendors if they’re willing to work with you on this new date.
  5. If your vendor is available for your new wedding date, add an addendum to the contract confirming their services for the new date.

What wording do you use when postponing a wedding?

Postponing a wedding wording

For guests, here is a recommended template:

You can use this in mailed wedding postponement cards, social media posts, texts, etc.

Dear Friends & Family:

We have made the heart wrenching decision to postpone our wedding [due to … if you want to share the specific reason.] That being said, we are still very excited to celebrate with you. We hope you can join us on [insert date] at [insert location]. You can find updated details at [insert event or website link].

With Love,

[Couple Names]

Change wedding date with wedding venue

Recommended postponement wording for vendors:

I highly recommend having these discussions in person or via phone, but if you need to send an email, you can use the following to start the conversation:

Hi [Vendor Name],

We were so excited to use your services for our upcoming wedding date. Unfortunately, we have made the heart wrenching decision to postpone our wedding until [new wedding date] due to [insert reason]. I would like to discuss this date change with you. We would still love to use you for our [insert service name].

Please let us know when you have some availability to chat.

Thank you,

[Couple Names]

How to deal with a wedding postponement as a couple

As the couple whose wedding is being postponed, I want to let you know that it’s okay to be upset. In some ways, you’re grieving the original plans you had and are now dealing with more stress and frustrating circumstances.

However, it’s important to take action as soon as you can once you know the new date for your wedding. This is crucial so as to reserve as many of the original vendors as possible, as well as to start alleviating the stress on your end.

When your wedding date comes around — the one that has now been rescheduled — don’t let it pass without a bit of celebration. That was supposed to be your big day, and it can still be a unique memory. You can eat cake, get dressed up and have an intimate date together as you look forward to the new wedding date.

Questions? Thoughts? Let me know in the comments below. Contact me here if you’d like another helpful wedding resource like this one.

Postpone wedding date
Postpone a wedding date
Postpone wedding date

To Alisha Norden Photography Couples

My goal is to ensure a 100% commitment to every wedding with my clients. This is why we signed a contract, as it protects your date from other conflicting bookings, and it protects my business in case of uncertainty. I want to assure you that I am prepared to handle any unexpected changes and will do my best to accomodate you, while also sticking to the contracts that have been put in place to protect your wedding in the first place.

I know this is a stressful time and I want to be as helpful as possible. Please reach out to me directly if you have any questions about your contract or wedding date. We can review your specific clauses and talk about how they affect you and your wedding. The best solutions are created from discussions one-on-one.


Some weddings photographed with:, Molly Anne, Stephanie Vegliante and Marcela Plosker

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