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Tips For Wedding Planners During COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted: 4/21/2020

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Tips For Wedding Planners During COVID-19 Pandemic

So the world screeched to a halt and you have been in self quarantine for over four weeks. Wedding planning still continues for many who have had to postpone or cancel their weddings around the March to May timeline. If you are a wedding planner and looking on what to do next, engagement doesn't have to stop. Hopefully we can help you come up with some tips and tricks to stay engaged with your clients.

Check In

It is more than possible that you have already done this step, although it is still worth mentioning. A simple check in might go a long way to your clients. As we stated above, homes have been transformed into multiple work offices and parents have become teachers. The home environment right now could be a stressful one, managing everything and keeping their families safe. We suggest taking some time and checking in on your clients, making sure that they are safe and healthy. Navigating the “what to do’s” and “don'ts” can be stressful for couples during this pandemic. Reassure them that they are not alone, work with them on what the best course of actions are and help them find another wedding date if postponing is a must. If their wedding is just outside mid May when the economy in New York is expected to start reopening, it is a good idea to talk possibilities and make plans to be prepared if social distancing is not lifted on schedule. We have already seen extensions of this.

In recent news, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order regarding the wedding market. The take aways are that this executive order:

Waives the 60 days required to obtain a marriage license during the period of time that there exists a declared emergency in New York State;

Permits those persons who were unable to marry within the time frame issued on the marriage license to obtain a second marriage license (and waives the fees), if necessary, mirroring the original marriage license that was obtained during the period of time a declared emergency existed in New York State;
Authorizes the issuance of a marriage license application, marriage license, or witnessing or solemnizing of the marriage ceremony, to be performed utilizing audio-video technology provided certain conditions are met.

Couples may not always be aware of their options, especially if it comes from an executive order. Let them know about these changes and options the State gives them.

Full details here: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/

Tailored Content For Clients

Now is the perfect time to create content that is tailored for your clients and niches. Create and share posts, photos, inspirational messages or stories and anything that you know your specific clients would like to see. You can even message them directly to share certain things for specific couples. This is not about asking for business, but keeping engagement with your couples and making each one of them a priority; show them that they are more than clients.

Hosting Zoom Calls

Zoom is a program we have been using ourselves for a number of different purposes and something we have found to be very helpful for keeping in contact over the past month. Zoom allows for virtual meetings large or small by scheduling a meeting and calling into the chat room and providing useful tools such as the ability to share your screen with viewers. Use it for the above tips on maintaining engagement with couples as a one-on-one with clients while they plan and navigate their wedding. It allows for possibilities to include third parties such as the venues or other personnel in the call so that everyone can talk and plan as a team.

Another option to consider is hosting a Q&A session. Invite clients and specialists and/or your staff to participate in the Q&A. Or, gather questions via social media and have a conference call with other venues, staff, and specialists that can answer questions directly. This allows you to pick questions from a large pool of questions that you think will be most useful to everyone. Record the call and post it on social media so that your followers questions can be answered. Allowing people to physically see you answer questions, provides more engagement then a quick post or tweet.

Zoom can be confusing the first time you use it, little things can make a big difference. Here are some useful tips and tricks for a better Zoom call: https://www.groovehq.com/blog/zoom-tips-and-tricks

Engagement, Engagement, Engagement

So, this is something that we keep saying a lot, but is most important. Staying engaged with your followers and having your followers engage back is the most important thing you can do with your social media. Engagement gives your posts meaning and drives a bigger audience. Now that we are all indoors, it is even more important than before. Posting your favorite photos of past weddings is a good way of using tools that you already have available to make up space on your social media for people to comment and share with others, driving engagement. This promotes your business, local venues and The Lake George Area, all in one, as people scroll through social media, having more downtime to plan for the future.

Use your expertise to come up with your own tips for couples during the pandemic. Bigger media outlets regularly post 10-20 tips for couples as articles and blogs. This is a good idea to do the same but again, tailored for your clients based on the knowledge you have on our region. You know, more than anyone, the needs of your clients. Some examples include “10 wedding planning tasks you can do in quarantine” and “10 ways to celebrate your original wedding date if you postpone”.

The Lake George Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau hopes everyone is staying safe and healthy. We are all on the same team and will get through this together!

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