Postponing or cancelling your wedding

Not that it will happen to you of course(!), but if you do need to postpone or cancel your wedding, it's worth knowing how to inform your guests

Cancelling a wedding

If you decide to call off your wedding, telling everyone is probably the last thing you want to do. The best way to do it is with a simple, formal note to all your guests. You don't have to go into detail, just a basic 'Janet and John regret to inform you that the wedding arranged for (date, time, place) will not now take place' will do. You can add something like, 'We'd like to thank you for all your good wishes in the past', or any kind of personal note, if you like. A more formal note can be sent as an alternative:

If the wedding is cancelled at late notice it is advisable to make the announcement by phone.

The cost of cancellation

You'll need to cancel any bookings made with venues, caterers, florists etc, immediately. The further from the planned wedding date you do this, the fewer costs you are likely to incur. Costs incurred by the late cancellation of a wedding should really be covered by whoever broke off the engagement, though if you decide to take the 'jilter' to court over this, bear in mind that you may not necessarily win. It's very hard to prove legally who's responsible in a situation like this, and very expensive to try.

You should offer to give back any wedding presents you've already received and let the giver decide if they want them returned. You should pay the postage for this.

If the woman calls off the wedding, she usually hands back her engagement ring. If the man calls it off, she keeps it. The law states that the ring, given as a gift by the man to the woman, is her property and need not be returned.

Also note that most wedding insurance policies do not pay out on cancellations where the couple have changed their minds. They do, however, usually pay out if cancellation is due to illness, death or various other disasters.

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