After deciding to postpone our September wedding, my partner and I used Zola's free 'change the date' card service — here's how it works

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• Many couples are having to postpone their wedding dates due to coronavirus-related concerns, myself and my partner included.
• Zola, a comprehensive wedding registry and planning platform, has launched a line of change-the-date cards that are free for anyone who used the site to send their save-the-dates or invitations.
• After deciding to postpone our September wedding, my partner and I used Zola's free change-the-date service. It was relatively quick and easy, though we did have to wait a little longer than the 24-hour turnaround time they promise.

Planning a wedding is stressful enough, but many couples are now having to essentially start the process over as they work to postpone their ceremonies. I held out hope that I wouldn't have to reschedule my September wedding, but alas, the time came last week for us to make the call. After contacting all of our vendors and settling on a new date, it was time to notify all our friends and family.

Thankfully, Zola is offering free change-the-date cards to anyone who ordered their save-the-dates or invitations through the site. Considering that we needed to spend another $60 on stamps alone, it was really nice to have this one small cost taken care of. They offer this service for expenses up to $100, and our change-the-dates were about $75.

What to expect from the service and how to use it

The change-the-date cards are nearly identical to its save-the-date cards, but they all acknowledge the special circumstances of the current situation many couples are in. They feature a variety of sayings, like "Save our (new) date" and "Scratch that, new plan." Each one is polished and easily personalized, and many include the option to add your own photo in the background, just like a regular save-the-date card.

To get your free set of cards, you can either call or email Zola at the provided address/phone number on the change-the-dates landing page. We opted to call, hoping it would be faster. After confirming our account with Zola, the representative told us they'd email us a code within 24 hours. It took about 36 hours to get the code (fine, it was a holiday weekend) and we placed our order with no issues.

Couples who used Zola for their original save-the-dates or invitations can get change-the-date cards for free, but if you haven't used Zola in the past, you can still purchase the cards starting at $0.40 each. Your options include postcards or regular paper cards in envelopes, the latter of which will cost you $0.05 more each. You'll have to call Zola or send them an email in order to claim your free invites, and all of the information you need to contact them is clearly marked on the website.

As with most of these services, once you place your order, you'll have to upload your list of addresses, but Zola will take care of printing them on the envelopes or the backs of your postcards. The box of cards will then be mailed to you, and you'll have to provide the stamps and stuff the envelopes before sending them out.

If you're in need of more support or guidance during this time, Zola also has a helpful resource that outlines what to do if your wedding has been impacted by the coronavirus. And if you're still looking for wedding registries, we've broken down how quite a few of them work. For what it's worth, my partner and I are using Zola for our registry and our invitations, and so far, so good.

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