COVID-19 Rescheduling Resources & Availability

If you are in a situation where you may need to reschedule your wedding due to the effects of COVID-19, I want to help you however I can and this page will continue to be an evolving resource for you going forward. Below you will find:

• An extended rescheduling policy that I have enacted for this specific situation
• Up to date availability for selecting new dates
• Information about my cancellation policy from your contract
• Templates & resources for contacting your other vendors to create a contingency plan for rescheduling as well as access to free planning assistance from an incredible wedding planner

I am available to you 24/7 through all of this, so if you need help sorting through all the “what-ifs” or are in a bit of a panic and need some reassurance or just need to have someone come up with a plan with you, do not hesitate to call, text, email or schedule a video chat with me. You can call or text me any time at 603.986.1944.

Extended Rescheduling Policy

Should you need to reschedule your wedding due to the effects of COVID-19, I will be extending my rescheduling policy which normally includes only applying your deposit towards your new date, but instead will include your full package amount applied towards your new date. Translation: your current package price and any money paid to date will be applied towards your new date with no additional fees – the only thing that changes between us is the date.

In order to take advantage of this extended rescheduling policy, you must look at my Availability below and select a date that I am available.

I know any scheduling changes that have to be made will mean some financial shifts, so I also encourage you to consider weekday options (Friday or Monday especially) as venues and other vendors across the board will have more open availability on these days.

2020-2021 Updated Availability

Below are a list of dates I am currently NOT available and this will be regularly updated as new dates get booked. Any dates outside of these ranges are open. If you have any questions or would like some clarity, feel free to reach out and chat with me directly.

Cancellation Policy

Should you decide to cancel your wedding or reschedule it to a date I am not available to cover, here is a look at the cancellation terms from your contract.

RESERVATION & FINAL PAYMENT: Upon your signature, Hilary Colleen Photography will reserve the time and date agreed upon, and will not make other reservations for that time and date. For this reason, the Reservation Deposit is non-refundable, even if the date is changed or wedding cancelled for any reason, including acts of God, fire, strike and extreme weather. The Reservation Deposit is to be paid at the time of signing the contract. The Reservation Deposit is to be applied towards the contracted wedding photography package. Client understands and agrees that the entire amount owed for the wedding photography package described in the contract is due no later than seven days prior to the Wedding Day unless a written Payment Plan is signed and received no less than 90 days prior to the event date. Client agrees if the balance is not paid by this time, Hilary Colleen Photography may, at its election, treat this agreement as if terminated by client. In such case, company shall retain any monies paid as liquidated damages.

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Your reservation deposit is non-refundable including an “Act of God” which this falls under. There is much work that I put in preparing before weddings, moreso with packages that include engagement sessions which were already shot & delivered, so the reservation deposit covers the work that has already been done, including not taking any other work for your date.

TERMINATION: Client may terminate this agreement provided written notice of such termination is provided to Hilary Colleen Photography prior to the event date. Should Client terminate this agreement, Hilary Colleen Photography shall retain any monies paid by Client as liquidated damages and this agreement shall thereupon terminate without further action required on the part of Hilary Colleen Photography or Client.

*Bold italics added

Any additional payments already made towards your wedding photography balance are also non-refundable. Should you be cancelling your wedding or rescheduling to a date that I am unavailable, you must email me in writing about the cancellation.

Templates for Contacting Vendors

Here you will find some email templates for contacting your vendors regarding your plans or their plans surrounding COVID-19 including any forced cancellations due to government mandates, health & safety precautions should your wedding still take place, questions regarding rescheduling policies, asking for a plan even if you don’t need one yet and also rescheduling to a new date.

Scenario: You hope to keep your date but want to know your vendor(s) plans as the date approaches

Hello ___________,

As we all have been in a time of such uncertainty and in many cases things are changing day by day, we wanted to reach out to see what your current plans are surrounding the situation with COVID-19. Some of our main questions are:
Should the country or state require you to close or cancel our event, will you notify us and how soon?
Should you decide you need to close or cancel our event for your own health or safety reasons, will you notify us and how soon?
Do you have a plan for when you will be making such decisions and will you keep us informed?
Should our event need to be cancelled, will we be allowed to reschedule to a new date and what is your rescheduling policy like?
Should our event still be able to take place, what measures will you be taking to keep us, our guests and you/your team safe and healthy?

We know we are very much at the mercy of time and taking things one day or even one hour at a time – we just wanted to connect with you to see what your plans are to help lessen some of the uncertainty on our shoulders right now.

Thank you so much for all you have done thus far with us for our wedding and we truly hope we are able to still have our wedding on our scheduled date with you. We hope you are staying healthy and safe.

Scenario: You KNOW you need to reschedule your date and have a couple in mind

Hello ___________,

As we all have been in a time of such uncertainty, we have decided that we need to reschedule our wedding to a different date to ensure the safety of our friends and family as well as their ability to be present at our wedding. We definitely want to keep our wedding with you – could you let us know the details of your rescheduling policy? Our hope is that you will be able to move our contract to a new date and that our financial agreement would stay the same for this change as it is so out of our control. The date or dates we are looking into rescheduling are ____________.

Please let us know at your earliest convenience if this/these date/dates work with your availability and what we need to do to lock in the new date. We would like to move forward with this as soon as possible to secure all our participating vendors so we can lessen some of the uncertainty on our shoulders right now with an actionable plan.

Thank you so much for all you have done thus far with us for our wedding and we truly hope we are able to find a date that we can reschedule together. We hope you are staying healthy and safe.

Scenario: You KNOW you need to reschedule your date and are asking for availability

Hello ___________,

As we all have been in a time of such uncertainty, we have decided that we need to reschedule our wedding to a different date to ensure the safety of our friends and family as well as their ability to be present at our wedding. We definitely want to keep our wedding with you – could you let us know the details of your rescheduling policy? Our hope is that you will be able to move our contract to a new date and that our financial agreement would stay the same for this change as it is so out of our control. Could you share with us a list of your available dates for the remainder of 2020 as well as 2021?

Please let us know your rescheduling policy and if we can keep our contract with just changing the date at your earliest convenience. We would like to move forward and select a new date as soon as possible to secure all our participating vendors and lessen some of the uncertainty on our shoulders right now with an actionable plan.

Thank you so much for all you have done thus far with us for our wedding and we truly hope we are able to find a date that we can reschedule together. We hope you are staying healthy and safe.

Scenario: You don’t know if you are rescheduling yet but would like to come up with a plan with your vendors just in case

Hello ___________,

As we all have been in a time of such uncertainty, we would like to come up with a contingency plan in the event that our wedding date has to be rescheduled. We definitely want to keep our wedding with you should we need to choose a different date – could you let us know the details of your rescheduling policy? Our hope is that you would be able to move our contract to a new date and that our financial agreement would stay the same for this change as it is so out of our control. Could you share with us a list of your available dates for the remainder of 2020 as well as 2021?

Please let us know your rescheduling policy and if we can keep our contract with just changing the date at your earliest convenience. We would like to have a plan ready and to know what to expect just in case we need to make this change which will lessen some of the uncertainty on our shoulders right now.

Thank you so much for all you have done thus far with us for our wedding. We are hopeful that we will be able to keep our original date and also that, should we need to reschedule, we will be able to find a new date that works for all of us. We hope you are staying healthy and safe.

Resources to help you

Below are some articles and free resources that you may find helpful and as we navigate through these ever-changing waters together. I also wanted to share that my dear friend and stellar wedding planner, Michelle’s Event Planning, is offering free assistance to any couples who will need to reschedule their date due to COVID-19. She is an amazing resource and would be such a help to you should you need it.

• The Coronavirus and Your Wedding – The Budget Savvy Bride
  • Help with making the decision to postpone and things to consider as you do so
  • Creating a contingency plan
  • What to do if you decide to go ahead as planned
• How the Coronavirus could Affect Your Wedding – The Knot
  • What to do now
  • What about your bachelor party, honeymoon or travel plans
  • What to do if your dress is delayed
• Free “Change the Date” Wedding Postponement Announcement – Jes Married
  • If you need to reschedule, this is the cutest way to let your guests know. The digital file is completely free – print it wherever OR have Jes print it for you at a cost.
• Wedding Face Masks
  • Gorgeous wedding-styled face masks for brides, grooms, wedding party members or guests who would like some extra security on the wedding day or when around specific at-risk wedding guests
  • Made in Seattle, WA
• Hand Sanitizer Wedding Favors
  • Perfect gift for all wedding guests to feel more at ease with sanitizer just for them
  • Personalize from handfuls of different designs
  • Made in NJ