Whatever the circumstances that have brought you to this article you have my sympathy, not only because you are calling off your special day, but also for the tasks that are ahead of you. It is by no means an easy thing to call off a wedding, no matter how far into the wedding planning you were.

I am not just talking about canceling venues, bookings and vendors but also having to call all those people with whom you shared such joy at your forthcoming marriage. This is no easy task but it is something you have to do. On a more positive note, if you are in this position you can at least call on others to help you with the situation.

Whilst it is possible you are in no mood to be telling everyone exactly why you are not getting married any longer and even overwhelmed at the thought of where to start with the cancellations, approaching it one step at a time will help you through.

It is also worth noting that both the bride and groom are responsible for canceling their wedding.

So should you be in the position where you have to call the whole thing off, here is a guide to approaching it in the right way.

No Announcement Sent - If you haven’t yet informed everyone of the wedding then you only need to tell those people that you have told yourself.

Announcement Sent - If you have announced the wedding then you need to send out a second announcement informing everyone that the wedding is off.

Newspaper Announcements - If you announced your engagement in the newspaper then you will need to book another announcement saying that the wedding has been canceled by mutual consent. You don’t need to provide any more details.

Wedding Invitations Sent - If you have sent out your wedding invitations then you will need to send out a card announcing that the wedding has been canceled. Do this by post rather than by phone or email, it will avoid any awkward questions.

Close To the Wedding Day - If your wedding day is just around the corner then you will need to act quickly to inform all the guests of the change of events. The guests to be told are those that are traveling from out of town. You don’t need to get into detail and don’t feel that you have to explain yourselves anymore than you are comfortable with.

Postponing the Wedding - Postponing a wedding can happen for a number of reasons but you should still follow the advice as given above. Just make sure that the closer you are to the wedding date the less delay there is in telling everyone. Whether you are postponing because of illness, death or some other reason, they will understand if you tell them in plenty of time. If you have already re-arranged a new date then you can include that information also. If you haven’t re-arranged it yet then tell them that a second invitation will be arriving shortly. Do not have a second bridal shower though!

Calling Off the Wedding after the Wedding Shower - If you have already held your bridal shower and are now canceling the wedding for good you will need to take steps to inform your guests and to return any gifts you have received. The gifts you will have been given and this can include any wedding gifts from your registry, will have been given in celebration of your wedding and were intended for you both to share. As the wedding is not going to happen you should return them to the gift giver promptly. You should not have actually opened any of your gifts until after your wedding; if you haven’t opened them then it is a simple task to return them. If you have opened them then you will need to arrange to reimburse the gift giver either with cash or in some other way.