COVID-19’s spread across the globe is an unprecedented black swan event. What does this mean for your upcoming Indian wedding? Most Indian weddings are gatherings of hundreds of guests. So Indian Weddings and COVID-19 don’t mix well. This illness has a high person-to-person transmission rate.

More cities and states are stressing guidelines and even issuing orders to cancel all gatherings of as little as 5 people. For how long? In most cases until a specified future date but there’s a lot of uncertainty. What does this mean? It means rescheduling a lot of Indian weddings.

Indian Weddings and COVID-19

There is so much uncertainty and the situation is rapidly changing everyday. We know of a Southern California bride whose wedding is scheduled for mid-April and she is debating whether to cancel it or not. Governor Newsom has advised to cancel all events until the end of the month.

But over the weekend Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said that Americans should be prepared to have life disrupted for another 8 weeks…at least. He also acknowledged that that timeline is based on historical data, but there’s really no way to know for certain.

The situation is evolving and changing rapidly – everyday, fueling the uncertainty.

How Are Venues and Vendors Managing Cancellations and Rescheduling Indian Weddings Impacted by COVID-19?

At the moment, most venues are offering to reschedule weddings and events to another date in the same year or to another date within 12 months of the original date.

This is where the terms and conditions of your venue contract are very important.

Most venue and vendor contracts have a clause addressing Acts of God, Civil disaster etc. In most cases a refund is likely not due and you could even be liable for any due balances, depending on how late you cancel and the terms of the contract.

Why would you have to pay a balance if your wedding is being postponed? This would apply in situations where decorators, wedding planners, DJs or other vendors may have incurred costs for materials, labor and work completed before the wedding. Some vendors don’t have a lot of pre-day-of work, for example photographers and cinematographers are less likely to have prep work before the wedding.

Force Majeure Clause in Venue Contracts

Additionally it matters who cancels – you or the venue. Where many venue contracts have coverage in place is when the venue cancels due to Force Majeure (uncontrollable, higher authority circumstances) such as a disease outbreak that is potentially covered by insurance. This clause exempts both parties from carrying out the contract.

Where this would not apply is if you decide to play it safe and cancel just in case or because a number of guests are unable to make it. It is important to check your the clause in each contract.

Please know that most venues and vendors will want to work with you to renegotiate the wedding date if at all possible.

How Are Indian Wedding Vendors Managing Cancellations and Rescheduling?

This varies vendor to vendor but a few things are at play here. First of all, most people are nice and recognize that this is an unprecedented, global event that we are all going through together. The fact that COVID-19 is so highly communicable is also important to address as never before has one’s individual behavior been so impactful on the health and well being of someone else and their loved ones.

Never Before Have We Been So Interdependent On Each Other.

In other words, most people in our community recognize the weight of the responsibility we have towards each other at the moment (I choose to believe most people recognize this). I care about your parents, your grandparents and your loved ones as much as I care about my own so I am voluntarily self isolating to minimize bringing harm to them. And likewise I hope you’ll do the same for me.

In that same vain, most people are nice and understanding as we are all experiencing COVID-19 together. And they will want to work with you to reschedule your wedding without additional fees.

Additionally, since the Indian community, is small – word travels fast. And vendors that don’t work with you, risk negative word-of-mouth and acquiring a bad reputation. Having said that I cannot emphasize enough how important your COMPASSION for your wedding vendors is right now.

Compassion for Vendors

Please keep-in-mind how hard hit the hospitality and wedding industries have been during this crisis. Thousands of small businesses have had their revenue shattered. There are probably some companies that will be forced to close their doors. Vendors are people and have loved ones just like you. And some vendors simply may not be able to refund deposits.

Policies From Real Indian Wedding Vendors

Raj Gujral, the Founder of Sound Nation, is allowing couples to reschedule with no change or additional fees for up to 1 year from the scheduled wedding date. He encourages couples to check new dates with him as well as the other vendors before re-booking a new date with the venue.

Robles Video Productions, is allowing couples to rebook within 6 months of the original date.

What If The Vendor I Originally Booked With, Isn’t Available on My Rescheduled Date?

In that case you’ll need to speak with the vendor about getting your deposit back. Some vendors will give it back, as everyone is trying to be understanding and compassionate during this unprecedented global event. But as mentioned above this is really hitting companies hard and some vendors simply may not be able to return deposits. It will vary by each vendor.

Summary

This article is about how Indian weddings and COVID-19 and the policies of venues and vendors around rescheduling weddings.

At the moment most venues are offering couples to reschedule their wedding either within the same year or within 12 months of the original date. This varies by venue. And vendors are offering couples to reschedule within 6 months to a year without additional fees – again this varies by vendor.

Some vendors will refund deposits and others will not be able to. This is a very stressful time for everyone. Please be kind and compassionate with your vendors as this event has drastically, and negatively impacted their revenue and income.

Anyone reading this, we empathize with the disappointment, stress, and chaos this is causing. We are sending you an e-hug, sending positivity, and wishes that you and your loved ones are happy and healthy through this difficult time.

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