Will Coronavirus Affect My Wedding or Special Event?
A Letter From Our Founders, Followed by FAQs
(From the owners of Seedling and Sage Catering, the exclusive caterer of Flourtown Country Club)
Dear Community:
These past few weeks have been an emotional roller-coaster that will never be forgotten. From families being quarantined, to businesses being shut down with just hours’ notice, this is a tumultuous time for us all.
As passionate professionals in the wedding and events industry, we want you to know that the team here at Seedling + Sage Catering is working tirelessly to help our clients and couples during this time of crisis.
In an effort to flatten the curve (a saying we likely never knew existed just weeks ago), our government levied an 8 week restriction on events as a result of COVID-19. That end date was to land in the May 8 range. The governor also extended the stay at home order until April 30.
As we navigate this situation together, we know questions about how this will impact your special day will arise. We want to provide you with as much information as possible.
We have had the privilege of sitting on several panel discussions and working hand in hand with our close-knit vendors and venues. As event industry leaders, we are working through new standards, procedures, and ideas to support our clients and couples in the tri-state area.
Together with these professionals, we will come together to provide options and support our community. Please read the information we have compiled below with some of our frequently asked questions.
We’ll get through this!
Melissa McDevitt and Laura Kidwell, Managing Partners
“Love Will Be Unphased” – Timothy Chi, CEO, The Knot Worldwide
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What if my wedding date is during the 8 week event restriction?
We have contacted our clients who have events during Governor Wolf’s event ban. We are allowing all of those clients to use 100% of their deposits toward postponing to another date in the year.
Several of our sales managers are working remotely and have successfully rebooked almost all of these events already!
Currently we have extended this rebooking/postponing opportunity to events through May 31. Even though the last few weeks of May are not part of the event ban, we would prefer to err on the conservative side and help our clients now rather than scrambling later
Should I reschedule my Summer wedding?
At this point, experts are not recommending you change plans if your wedding is set after the recommended eight-week ban.
“If your wedding is in June or beyond, you should not be postponing at this point, you should continue your planning process,” recommends Jove Meyer of Jove Meyer Events in New York City.
Recent articles in Harpar’s Bazaar Magazine and Vogue advise that you watch how things progress in the coming weeks and weigh your options wisely.
“If you are planning an event after the month of May, use this time to have conversations and check-ins with your planner and your team of vendors, particularly with your key players and venue as soon as possible ,” advises Chris Hessney of Hessney & Co.
We agree! Your Seedling + Sage planner will help you look forward to some additional date options, while also keeping our eye on the news.
Should I cancel or postpone my event?
In an interview with FOX NEWS last week, industry expert Jeffra Trumpower, senior director at Wedding Wire, urged couples to postpone and not cancel.
“Instead of canceling, we recommend that couples work with their vendors to find a common date in the future, and postpone if possible,” he said.
Couples will likely lose out on their non-refundable deposits if they cancel. Deposits are in place because the company/person you have hired has done a lot of work to secure the date and details of your event. If you postpone, you could ask that the balance is due on a revised date once the event in rescheduled.
Postpone! Postpone! Postpone! Work with your vendors to find another date in 2020. It is likely that Saturdays may not be available because they are already booked, or they are a ‘peak’ date that will be booked.
We agree! If your venue is being kind enough to transfer your deposit to a new date, consider off-peak dates. Sundays, and Thursdays are the new Fridays… and we are happy to follow suit and cater your event on that date as your caterer.In terms of venue space, Seedling and Sage Catering is fortunate to have more than 20 venues where we cater events. Currently we have a lot of options still for 2020.
If we change the overall theme of our reception because we chose to get married on our special day, will you still accommodate us?
Yes! We can select a date together and then use your deposits on hand toward any type of event this year with similar financial value.
My wedding date is special for us. What could we do?
We have heard so many fun ideas. From rushing to the courthouse, to intimate backyard ceremonies, some have decided to wed now and have the reception later. We recently saw a segment on a couple who eloped and streamed the ceremony through Zoom!
Research from this article comes from the experience of our team and then various news sources including: The Knot, Wedding Wire, FOX News, Vogue, Harpaars Bazaar and Brides.com
