How to Change Your Wedding Date: Expert Tips and Tricks

You sent your save the dates, and they were gorgeous, weren’t they? You got some compliments from your friends, a phone call from your grandparents, and your Instagram mentions were popping off. Everything was going as planned! But now, everything’s spiralling.

Something, someone, or some event has caused the date of your wedding to change. We know what you’re going through is stressful and difficult but Zola is here to help. Marriage is a lifetime course on learning how to live in the moment, and lesson number one is learning how to gracefully pivot when things go awry.

Whether your wedding date has been postponed, changed, adjusted, or pushed, your wedding is still going to happen and Zola has everything you need to make your wedding a success.

Change Of Plans

We know that changing plans is annoying, especially when those changes affect the day you’ve been planning your whole life. We’re here to tell you that everything is going to be OK! With your talent, and our resources, you can come out of this looking like a genius. Your job is to stay as cool as you’ve always been while we work behind the scenes to make it seem like this was all part of the plan. You are a champion wedding planner and now you get to put your incredible talents into action.

Especially when the planning gets complicated, you have to remember that this is going to be one of the greatest days of your life. When your wedding day happens—and it will happen—it will be amazing for two important reasons; neither of which have anything to do with the date it takes place. First, it will be wonderful because of the love you share with your partner, and second, it will be surreal because of the people gathered around you to celebrate your happiness.

Update what you want.

Weddings are fun, and planning is part of that fun. Sure licking envelopes and sending thank you notes can get a bit tedious, but for the most part, this is the greatest party you will ever attend and you are completely in charge. Even when things don’t go as planned, a wedding is as fun as you allow it to be.

So what’s so fun about calling an audible and changing the date? Well for starters, you get to change anything you may have been upset about. Didn’t love the appetizer menu? Change it up! Had your heart set on a beautiful overbooked venue? Maybe it’s available now.

A Change the Date is basically a free redo on anything you wanted to change but were locked into because of your date. Having to change the date may feel like a curse, but the freedom it allows you is a total blessing. Plus, Zola makes it easy to send out a wedding date change announcement with our fully customizable suite of Invites + Paper.

Insider Tips For Wedding Success

Whether you are ready to pull the trigger on a new date or not, a change of date announcement is a great way to buy some extra time. Plus, sending out change the dates is a polite way to inform your guests that you care about their calendar while reminding them that you want your wedding to be a priority. Even if there is no set date, just a quick update is a classy, formal way to keep people excited and engaged. We’ll address some fun ways to break the news in just a bit, but for now here are some important steps for changing your date:

Contact your venue.

When dealing with venues it’s crucial that you remain patient and pleasant. The easier you are to work with the more likely they are to give you preferential treatment. Plus if you’re willing to be flexible about changing your date you may even be able to work out a discounted price.

If your venue is being stubborn or stingy, call some other venues. Was there a venue you really wanted but weren’t able to book? Your luck may have recently changed. Whatever events that have turned your life upside down may be affecting others too so don’t be afraid to be daring while others are being timid. The key things to remember here are to be pleasant and flexible. Your date is already changing, use this opportunity to get everything you want without the need to be tied to a specific date.

Contact your caterer.

The foodservice industry is all too familiar with date changes, it’s part of the reason deposits are so popular amongst caterers. Your caterer does not want you to cancel your wedding, and most are amenable to helping you move your special day to a new date.

Once you get a feel for the rough timeline of a new date, contact your caterer and ask them what their schedule looks like. Again, be patient and flexible to ensure you get the friendly service you deserve in return.

Announcing the Date Change

Now it’s time to announce the date change. There are so many fun ways you can share the news of a date change. Try to take bits and pieces of your personality and tie them into your announcement. Remember, your guests want to have fun and humor is a great way to remind them that you and your fiance are all about making fun a top priority.

For example, are you or your spouse notoriously late? Send out an announcement like “Isn’t it just like us to be running late? We’re changing the date and it’s TBD!” Or, tie in one of your go-to excuses for being late for group activities like: “Traffic is so bad right now. Waze says we’re gonna be a couple months late ;)”

Here are some more of our favorite fun “change of date” announcements:

• “We’re planning our forever... better late than never! Change of date TBD!”
• “Our date stood us up! Good thing we have each other! We’re changing the date to_____ see you there!”
• “The show must go on! We just need to find the understudy. New wedding date TBD!”
• “Our calendar never got the save the date we sent. Our new date is ______!”
• “If you think you’ve been going crazy, remember my fiance has had to deal with me changing the date of our wedding. Please save this new date!”
• “New date, same bride and groom. Join us on _____!”

If you don’t want to go for a humorous approach, a standard please and thank you message goes a long way:

• “Please join us on our new day______ .Thank you for being flexible.”
• “We hope you’re still able to join us, our date is now_______”
• “Thanks for all your patience, please save this new date in your calendar_____”
• “We’re excited to see you on our new day _____ ! Thank you for being part of our lives.”

However you choose to break the news, change of date notices are a must, especially if you have already sent out save the dates. Though you may be tempted to pull a fast one and send out the invites with updated date and time, be warned that a move like that could induce chaos.

Control the chaos.

Nobody wants chaos associated with their wedding, which is why sending out a change of date notice is crucial in preventing your wedding guests from being confused or misinformed. Do your guests, and yourself a favor and send another round of pre-invites letting people know that the plan has changed. This also gives your out-of-town guests ample time to adjust their travel arrangements so they can attend your beautiful wedding on its new date.

We want you to remember that everyone who was planning a 2020 wedding is in the same boat. However, you have the resources and know-how to seize this opportunity. When the world finally gets back to normal, you'll be on cruise control after gracefully pivoting to a new date with the help of your change of date announcements.

Enjoy the ride.

Take solace knowing that one of the first things people are going to be able to do after quarantine is going to your wedding! Whatever you do is going to be amplified by the collective excitement of socializing again, and there is a real possibility your wedding may go down as the social event of the year.

Hunger makes things taste better, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and weddings post-quarantine make history. So don't wait to make the wedding date change announcement, send out those “Change The Date” cards, and enjoy the ride.