Updated: Jan 16, 2022
As it’s such a tricky time for weddings and events with COVID-19 restrictions being applied with little or no notice and COVID cases on the rise — I often get asked how we'll deal with the spicy cough around your wedding date. I will work with you if you are affected by restrictions. I've had to become a wizard at managing a fluid calendar, so I'm all hands on deck, ready to help celebrate you two.
In this blog, I'll run through four COVID scenarios that could apply to your wedding, and how I’ll manage these with you.
1. The Vic Government says no (snap lockdowns) OR you (my booked client) have COVID
If the Victorian Government has health orders that prevent more than 25 people attending your wedding OR you have tested positive for COVID and need to isolate at the time of your event, I will work with you on finding a new date without any additional fees being charged, as long as it’s within 12 months of your original date and a date that I have available. Outside of this time period — a $400 re-booking fee will apply. If you postpone to a date that I'm unable to play for you, your booking is effectively cancelled with me as I am unable to deliver my service (please see advice on finding a date below).
2. Grey area (restricted weddings)
The second scenario is if your wedding can still technically go ahead, but you don’t like certain government restrictions (eg guest numbers and dance floor restrictions) or your guest list has been affected by positive COVID cases or interstate travel restrictions. This also applies if you choose to pre-emptively postpone ahead of time as you feel that there may be restrictions and you need to secure a new date with your venue. In this situation, if you choose to postpone, a $400 re-booking fee will be applicable. The reason for this is that every time I postpone to a new date, I lock myself out of a potential new booking for that particular date.
3. You are COVID frustrated and pulling the pin (cancellation)
SO, you’ve (understandably!) had enough and decided, to hell with it! You're going to elope with just you two, a celebrant and a photographer. This effectively means that you’re looking to cancel your booking with me. My booking fees are non-refundable. They lock me in for your date and cover all the work that’s done in the lead up.
4. What if you have Covid Cal?
I'll give you as much notice as possible, as well as source a suitable replacement musician, DJ or combination of both. There is a really strong musical community in Victoria that I'm proud to call my colleagues, so I will search around for you to give you an option to swap straight in. I'll manage all the communication to ensure they've got all the details on the day that I would have had, to ensure you've got the right song for the right moment, timing etc. Payment to new artist will be arranged on a case by case basis.
For your info — I tested positive at the start of the omicron wave, fingers crossed this means I won't have to deal with this again.
Why do I charge a postponement fee?
This fee covers the admin work that’s involved in postponing as well as covering a (small) portion of the income I lose by locking in your postponed date (making me unable to take on new bookings). As soon as you've paid your booking fee, I start saying "No, sorry..." to all my new enquiries for that date.
How to find a new date that works
For the best chance of me being available on your new date, I ask that you offer us (and all of your other amazing wedding vendors) a couple of dates to choose from.
Don’t forget about mid-week dates as they tend to have more availability than Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. An online poll created through a scheduling app is a great way to gather multiple availabilities from your vendors. I recommend checking out doodle.com).
Photo by @thehogansweddings — Please go book Jake or Courtney. They're the best.
Policy designed to be consistent with other Victorian wedding entertainment suppliers. This blog was largely inspired by the gun DJ's at One More Song.
