By Chris Jensen Studios-Winnipeg Wedding Photographer

I hope some of this information will help relieve some of your stress.

Planning a wedding is already stressful and hard enough. Now with the recent global spread of the Coronavirus, there is an extra whole lot of stress & uncertainty added to our couples, and on top of that, trying to keep up with the new rules on gatherings the government has implemented to keep us safe from spreading it further. We expect this to effect weddings and gathering until Mid May (8 weeks).

I am sure you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed and confused right now with your up and coming wedding. As your wedding photographer, I am always here to help. I always tell my brides to treat me like their planner if they don’t have one. I know the industry inside and out and have a ton of contacts with pretty much every good vendor in the city, and we are all here for you. I always help you with your timelines, photo locations, backup plans, budget, vendor referrals, etc.

I am sure you have a million questions going through your mind right now, like How Do I Postpone My Wedding?, Will I Get A Refund?. Are My Vendors Willing & Able To Reschedule My Wedding? What Do I Tell Me Guests?

Just as a tip, I would say the best way right now during this crazy time, the best way to contact your vendors (speaking from my point of view anyways), would be by Email. This gives us a chance to look at what you are saying and then communicating back to you in writing that is easy to understand, and if requested, we can always speak over the phone from there.

Here are a few things you can ask your vendors. We are all here to help you. I always tell my couples that they are my absolute number one priority, and they can contact me at anytime of the day.

What To Ask Your Venue

Many of the popular and good venues, like most top vendors, will already be booked most of the days in the summer, especially Saturdays, however, there are Friday and Sundays that may be available to you, and in many times, at a better rate than a Saturday during Prime Time (June-October) for example.

Think outside the box as well, I have shot many weddings on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday and they are always great. They are very popular out west in Banff and Canmore where I shoot quite often. Winter and Late Fall Weddings are always a lot of fun too and becoming more popular. And it is a great way to get unique and different photos than everyone else.

Here is a list of questions to ask your Venue.

• What fees are associated with cancelling or postponing my venue?
• What dates do you have available?
• Are there any discounts if we book our wedding during the week?
• If we reschedule our wedding to a new season, what options to do have to combat the weather in those months for my ceremony or reception?
• If the venue temporarily shuts down, what is the best way to contact you?
• Are you doing anything differently that we should know about in regards to combating the Coronavirus and are there any precautions we need to take?

What To Ask Your Photographer

When you book Chris Jensen Studios as your wedding photographer, I have all those kinds of details all laid out for you already so you really have nothing to worry about, I have you covered. I am always up for pretty much anything, and when it comes to choosing a new date for their wedding, to be flexible and creative. Be open to a Monday (Long Weekend!) or a Thursday wedding. They are more common than you think. Lots of my weddings out west and down south are during the week. They save money on their venue and almost every vendor that way. Even in Winnipeg, I do 2 to 3 weekday weddings a year. There is also Friday and Sunday weddings which are super popular due to it is still the weekend and on a Friday, you can sleep in and relax all day Saturday and Sunday to ease the hangov…I mean good time you had Friday night. You can even move the wedding date until November, December, or even January-March. I got married on a Sunday and saved a ton of money that way.

I am always here to help my couples in anyway I can, as I am sure most of the good vendors are too.

There are never any extra fees with Chris Jensen Studios if you have to reschedule your wedding. And all deposits will carry forward to your new wedding date when you work with me. Shoot me an email and I am sure we can make another day work great for you if you have to reschedule your wedding day.

Here is a list of questions you can ask your photographer;

• What is your reschedule/cancellation policy?
• Are there any fees with rescheduling?
• What is your availability if we reschedule our wedding?
• Can we apply our deposit to our new wedding date?
• We have planned a destination wedding. Are you still comfortable with travelling?
• Will our package or pricing change if we reschedule our wedding and your packages change by then?

What To Ask Your Wedding Planner

You will find may of the good planners, and other vendors will already be thinking of what may need to change and what days are available to you to suit your needs and how you planned your wedding to look like, and what we can do to still create that day for you.

Most vendors are going to want to work with if you have to postpone your wedding due to the unforeseen effects of the Coronavirus. The most important thing on your wedding day is you.

Here are a list of questions you can ask your Wedding Planner:

• What is your availability in the coming months if we have to reschedule?
• Our wedding is still eight weeks away, should we still consider rescheduling?
• Are there any fees to postponing or cancelling our wedding?
• Will you coordinate with our other vendors on our behalf?
• What options do we have if you decide to postpone our wedding date?

What To Ask Your Florist

Your florist may be bringing in flowers that are only available in and around your wedding, so it is always important to check in with them.

Here is a list of questions to ask your Florist;

• What happens if we decide to postpone or cancel our wedding day?
• Do you foresee any issues bringing our flowers that we chose in on a new date?
• Are there any other precautions or handling instructions with our flowers if we bring them in the the winter time?
• Can we apply our deposit to our new date?
• Do you think we may have to choose different flowers for our wedding?
• Any issues with sourcing flowers on our new date?
• Where are our flowers coming from?

If you have any questions about anything, even if you are not my wedding couple, please feel free to contact me anytime, I am here to help.

See more of my work at Chris Jensen Studios

Or contact me anytime at chris@chrisjensenstudios.com
(204) 990-7395