To all our brides who are postponing their weddings right now…

Unfortunately due to the current circumstances, we’ve had so many brides understandably contact us to say their wedding has been cancelled or postponed.  Here’s our advice to anyone struggling with this right now!

1. You’re not alone.

The first thing to remember is that these are exceptional circumstances.  Normally cancelling a wedding might be seen as a big deal, but right now hundreds of brides up and down the country are going through exactly the same thing, and that means two things – firstly, companies are being very understanding about helping you rearrange plans and coordinate new dates; and secondly, there’s a lot of support available from other brides too.

Don’t feel like you’re an inconvenience when asking for help.  Every venue, caterer and – yes! – bridal shop is anticipating the influx of wedding postponements right now, and you won’t be the first bride to contact us.

It’s also a great time to join some groups on Facebook and reach out to other brides whose weddings have also been postponed.  We know it can be stressful planning a wedding, let alone planning to postpone one with just a few months’ notice – and during the lockdown it’s a great time for people coming together online in support of one another.

2. Prioritise.

First, contact your venue and suppliers to discuss setting a new date.

There’s no rush to contact us right now, but once you have your new wedding date set we’ll need to get this updated on your account.  It’s important for us to have an accurate wedding date for you, as we use this to work out when you’ll need to come in for your alterations, and when your gown needs to be ready for.

If your wedding is just cancelled for now and you aren’t discussing new dates immediately, please also let us know so we can put a note on your account.

If you haven’t updated your wedding date with us by the time we reopen, we may contact you about upcoming appointments.

3. Keep your guests in the loop.

Again, many of your guests will already be expecting your wedding plans to change under the current circumstances, and should be very understanding.

All the same, it’s good to let them know as soon as possible that your wedding date has changed – your guests might have made plans regarding travel and stay, which they may be able to get refunded if they make the necessary arrangements early enough.

4. We can offer storage for your gown.

If your wedding has been affected by Covid-19, we will now be offering long-term storage for your gown.

The price for storage for 1 year will be £100 – this works out at about £8.33 a month.

If you need to store your gown for longer than a year, we can do this on a month by month basis.

5. You can have your gown refitted closer to your new date.

If you haven’t already been fitted, we’ll ask you to postpone your fittings until about two months before your new wedding date.  The reason you should have your fitting close to your wedding date is that it means your measurements are as accurate as possible, and your body isn’t likely to change much in those two months.

If you have already had your gown fitted, and your wedding has unfortunately been postponed, hopefully your shape won’t change much in the interim months – but if it does, you’re very welcome to come back to us in the months leading up to your new date, so our seamstresses can tweak the fit for you.

Some charges may apply, particularly if your shape changes drastically.

6. If your gown no longer fits, we may be able to swap it.

Providing your gown hasn’t already been altered, if your shape does change drastically between now and your new wedding date, we may be able to swap the dress for you.  This also depends on the style you’ve chosen and whether we’re able to restock it.

We can’t guarantee that the style of gown you originally chose will still be available in the size you need, as we do sometimes discontinue designs.  But, assuming we are still able to restock your original gown, we may give you the opportunity to come in and choose another style you love.

If you do require this, in order to restock your dress and swap the gown for you, a restocking fee will apply.

For more details, just drop us a message.

7. Our payment plans aren’t affected.

Please be aware that if you currently have your gown or another item with us on a payment plan, your payment plan is not affected by the lockdown.  As you’ll have seen on our social media, we are currently accepting payment via bank transfer while all our boutiques remain closed.  You can contact us through our website or social media for details on how to make this payment, or we will email you these details on the day your payment is due.

We understand that a lot of our brides are in difficult financial situations right now, so if you are struggling to make your payments, please let us know in advance

8. Use this time!

While we’re in lockdown, there’s no better excuse to spend more time on wedding planning.  Now that your wedding has been postponed, perhaps this is a good time to look over your wedding plans and see whether there’s anything, in a dream world, which you would add.  Does this extra time allow you to do that?

Keep an eye on our social media – we’ll be posting lots of ideas and inspiration!  Make sure you’re following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @elitebridaluk

9. Stay positive.

It’s tough when there’s so much going on in the world – and especially when such a huge, happy thing that you’ve been looking forward to for so long is suddenly so much further away.

Weddings which do go ahead over the coming months are still likely to be greatly affected by the aftermath of the outbreak.  Many friends and family members may not be able to attend.

But when your wedding does go ahead, it will be a completely happy occasion that’s focused on you and your partner – just as you wanted it to be.  You have longer to wait, but there’s also more time to plan those finishing touches, more time to daydream, and more time to spend with your wonderful partner in anticipation of the big day.

if you need anything from us in the meantime, we’re here to help.

10. Stay in touch.

If there’s anything still worrying you regarding your dress in particular, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Our boutiques must remain closed until further notice from the government, but we are still available to chat to through our website and social media – follow us @elitebridaluk on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Whatever your worry, we will do our best to help.