Struggling over logistics for postponed wedding

Dear Miss Manners: We sent out 220 wedding invitations and got back 175 yeses. The wedding venue in San Francisco shut down in March with eight days’ notice! We desperately tried to find an alternative venue without success and ended up calling all guests to tell them it was canceled.

Fortunately, most outoftown guests were able to get airfare/ hotels refunded. (No refunds for the wedding venue, caterers, etc., but we could reschedule with little additional cost.)

If and when things open, how should we handle the rescheduling? Specifically, reinvite all guests? Or only those who RSVPd yes?

If we reinvite only those guests who responded yes, what should we do about those who sent gifts but didn’t plan to attend? And what form should reinvitations take? Bride and groom hope to marry in a ceremony for immediate family as soon as the quarantine is lifted, but have a belated reception.

Gentle Reader: If the wedding is held with only immediate family present, Miss Manners suggests sending an announcement afterward, which can also serve as a pledge for a future celebration, to which all the guests should be reinvited.

The letters of thanks for the presents already received should make it clear that nothing more is warranted: “Groom and I were so dismayed that we weren’t able to have the ceremony with everybody there. We do hope that we will see you at the reception when it is rescheduled. In the meantime, thank you for the handsome antique pie slicer. We have been testing out many and various different pies to see which one it slices best. I say cherry.”