Top 10 2021 Expert Wedding Tips for Wedding Couples & Businesses During COVID [Part 2]

Mask and Sanitizer Station: La Bella Planners, Small Socially Distanced Wedding Reception: Wedding Photojournalist Association, Glasses of Wine on a Wall: Martha Stewart

It’s true that couples are stressed when it comes to wedding planning during the age of COVID-19, but vendors are stressed too! Not only is it important to operate according to the laws and regulations in your area, but you also want to make sure you make your brides and grooms happy.

In our previous post, we tackled ways couples can make the most of the planning process during COVID-19. In Part 2, we’re tackling things from the vendors’ perspective, providing tips that will enable you to anticipate the needs of your couples so you can provide outstanding service.

Make Health and Safety Measures the Primary Topic of Conversation

A whopping 75% of couples said that the health and safety of guests was the most important aspects of planning their wedding. This concern will continue into 2021 and beyond, so it’s a good idea to make health and safety the primary topic of conversation.

What are you doing to keep couples and guests safe? How have you changed the way you operate to slow the spread of germs? These are the kinds of things couples will want to know about, so it’s a good idea to bring them up early and often.

Provide Masks, Sanitizer, and Other Items as Part of the Package

Brides and grooms are spending an extra $280 on health and safety measures, like masks and hand sanitizer. You can make it a little easier for your couples if you provide these kinds of items, as well as social distancing signs, sanitized items, and others that can be used during the reception and the ceremony. That way your clients don’t have to go shopping for these items themselves.

Go Virtual

The more you go virtual, the more you can slow the spread of the virus, but it’s also true that it’s extremely convenient! Do your clients a favor and go as virtual as you can ahead of their big day.

One in ten couples met 100-percent virtually with their vendors, while others used mobile planning apps and followed vendors on social media. This gives couples the ability to plan, while minimizing the amount of time they have to take off work. Any way your business can go virtual to make things easier for your clients, you should go for it!

Offer Flexible Scheduling

Changing wedding dates and losing deposits wasn't a huge concern prior to 2020. However, COVID-19 has caused couples to seriously consider the unexpected. Encourage them to book your services by offering flexible scheduling.

In 2020, 40-percent of couples moved forward with both their wedding ceremony and reception, but dates were changed, smaller gatherings were held, and in some cases, deposits were lost. By allowing guests flexible scheduling options, you can give them peace of mind.

Include Backup Plans in the Contract

Being flexible doesn’t mean your clients can change their wedding date on a whim or request your services at the last minute. It does mean that you talk about flexible options and write them into the contract.

Nearly half of couples made changes that included adjusting their vendors’ scope of work. Plan ahead for these possibilities and include them in the contract as possibilities to make it easier on yourself and your clients.

Colorful Appetizer Plated on a Seashell: Bibby’s Kitchen, Outdoor Dining Area: Avant-Gardens Weddings, Small Outdoor Seating Area: The Knot

Offer Options for a Sequel Celebration

It was common to postpone the reception until a later date in 2020, with 47 percent of couples making this decision. It doesn’t have to be a bummer! It’s a lot easier for couples if their vendors offer special options for sequel celebrations.

Offer a discount to couples who want to come back and have an anniversary celebration later, rent out different parts of the venue for different sized groups on different dates, or throw in something for free, like a floral arrangement or cupcakes that can be used at subsequent celebrations.

Make It Easy To Celebrate Outside

Gathering outdoors is a great way to stop the spread of viruses, like coronavirus. Six in ten couples took advantage of this by holding their ceremony and reception outdoors. Make this an accessible option for your couples by finding ways to make it easier for them to celebrate outside.

If you have a traditional indoor venue, buy a tent and provide it as an option to clients. Partner with other outdoor vendors or allow guests to have access to a courtyard.

Suggest Other Vendors You Would Recommend

In 2019, over 50-percent of couples said they have seen their band or DJ perform in person, but that’s unlikely to be the case in 2020. It can be hard to choose vendors when you haven’t seen them perform, you haven’t eaten their food, or you haven’t been to their venue.

Make it a little easier by working with other vendors you know and trust to recommend each other to couples. Not only does it make your clients’ search a little easier, but it also provides you with referral business.

Find Ways To Make the Event More Intimate

About half of all wedding receptions that took place during COVID-19 had 50 people or less attending. This trend will likely continue into 2021 for ceremonies, even if a larger reception is planned for a later date.

For vendors who are used to accommodating lots of guests, this can be a challenge. Try and find ways to make events feel more intimate. That might mean reducing the amount of DJ equipment used, sectioning off smaller areas of a large reception area, or offering different lighting options, like lamps instead of suggesting large fixtures.

Offer Something Special

Although planning a wedding during COVID comes with compromises, it also gives you and your clients a chance to make things special.

Some couples chose to serve individual hors d’oeuvres in 2020, while 18 percent added butler and bottle services to their big day. Figure out what special things you can offer to help your couples make their wedding day all their own.