Planning a wedding can be stressful under the best of circumstances. But planning a wedding during a coronavirus pandemic can bring a whole new level of stress, as couples and wedding-industry vendors have to reschedule weddings and often take a financial hit.
Illinois’ shelter-in-place order has forced engaged couples to cancel April and May weddings, and some experts speculate that social distancing regulations could continue through June.
A North Shore bridal hairstylist from Park Ridge and brides from Oak Park and Elmwood Park shared how they’re trying to manage the uncertainty and help other brides navigate it too.
An event planner plans, and re-plans, her own wedding
Oak Park resident Danielle Kovack has experienced the coronavirus wedding impact from both sides–as a bride-to-be and an event planner.
She was recently placed on furlough from her position as a sales and event manager for FOUND Hotels in Chicago. She still holds the position but is not being paid a salary because all events have been cancelled or postponed.
In her personal life, she has postponed her May 2 wedding at Chicago’s South Shore Cultural Center and rescheduled the date for Nov. 14 .
Kovack, who has worked in event planning for seven years, said the best thing couples and vendors can do is try and work together to keep financial losses for both parties at a minimum.
“Couples are running out of money and vendors are running out of money,” Kovack said. “The wedding industry is plummeting so neither party has money to give. If you (a couple) lead with ‘I need a refund’ you might not get it.” Kovack recommends couples remain calm and remind vendors that they cherish the relationships that they have with them.
“Be as friendly as you can, because they’re getting calls and calls every day about cancellations,” she said. “Sometimes it’s just about the way you handle it, and you can get what you want.”
While she admits that she and her fiancé, Jack, were disappointed that they had to postpone their wedding, Kovack said that she considers them lucky when it has come to rescheduling, thanks to their vendors, who have been accommodating. The couple hasn’t lost any large sums of money as they’ve been able to push back their date. But they have ordered new invitations, and Kovack has to find a new hairstylist, as her original stylist is already booked for the new date.
Support groups abuzz
Not every couple has been so lucky. Kovack belongs to several wedding groups on Facebook and is an admin for the Wedding Planning Support Group. While the group, which has more than 6,000 members, is not specific to brides planning during the coronavirus pandemic, it has recently seen an increase in posts from brides looking for advice on how to handle the rescheduling of their weddings and also vendors who are not accommodating their needs.
One bride who recently cancelled her wedding is struggling with her venue to get the money she paid refunded to her, as her contract states that she can get a full refund in the case of a public calamity or disaster. The venue is arguing that the coronavirus pandemic does not qualify as a disaster.
Kovack has recently created a new Facebook page, Your Pandemic Wedding Guide, and said she wants use her event planner experience to offer free support to couples who have specific questions regarding contracts. “If they haven’t hired a wedding planner, let me look through your contract,” she said. “Maybe you have more options than you think.”
North Shore hairstylist video-chatting with brides
One wedding-industry vendor who is trying hard to support her clients is Tina Sclafani, owner and senior hairstylist at Magnificent Brides. Sclafani, who works on location, often on the North Shore, and also has a studio in Park Ridge. She has been a stylist for more than 20 years and had a full schedule of weddings booked for herself and her team this year. Now, all of her clients through the end of May have postponed their weddings and Sclafani has cancelled her regular hair appointments.
She isn’t earning an income at the moment, but remains positive because she said her clients are postponing, rather than cancelling, so the opportunity to earn income is still there. Sclafani said she is more concerned about comforting her clients and making their rescheduling as smooth as possible. “It’s a stressful time for them,” she said.
Sclafani is not imposing any additional fees for rescheduling or cancellations, adjusting contracts for clients so they don’t have to fill out new paperwork and offering FaceTime consultation appointments for brides-to-be.
“That way we can virtually meet and discuss different options for their hair,” said Sclafani. “And then, when the time is right, I will set up an in person appointment for them.”
Sclafani also said that when it is safe to see clients in person again, she will be adding more work days and hours to her schedule to accommodate them.
Bride fears endangering elderly relatives
One of Sclafani’s clients is Elmwood Park resident Naz Hanna, who recently chose to postpone her May 24 wedding. Hanna said she and her fiancée Dino came to the decision to postpone because they thought it was the right thing to do.
“I have family members who’ve been laid off since March, so it just doesn’t feel right,” said Hanna. “I don’t want to put people in that situation and it doesn’t feel right to have this big formal celebration, when we’re literally in the middle, or getting out, of this chaos.”
Hanna said another reason for postponing her big day is because she has a few family members who are ill and she doesn’t want to put their health at risk.
“I have an aunt with stage-4 cancer, and my grandfather is very elderly,” Hanna said. “There’s no way I could make them come to my wedding and put their lives at risk.”
Hanna says that Sclafani was the only one of her vendors who reached out to her first to see if she was going to postpone her wedding. “I thought that was really nice and professional for her to do,” said Hanna, who had a video meeting Wednesday morning with Sclafani to discuss her new wedding date, August 16.
Hanna said she’s been fortunate with her other vendors as well, such as Café La Cave in Des Plaines, whom she says have made rescheduling easy for her. However, she has heard “horror stories from other brides” about the experiences they are having with some vendors who continue to demand payments or charge for rescheduling.
“I feel for everyone in this situation,” she said. “I hope that we’re out of it soon, and that things get back to normal, and they will, but who knows when and how?”