There are a lot of things that can go wrong at a wedding that can be planned for ahead of time. If you set a wedding date before COVID-19 brought the world to a halt, well, there was really no way to see that one coming.
Now the biggest question is, do you keep the wedding date in place or postpone it? WhereBridesGo.com has a few helpful things to consider about planning a wedding during COVID-19 in today's blog. This one has tips for couples that choose to stick to their original wedding date and next week's blog will cover helpful advice for those that prefer to postpone the wedding.
Getting Married Now
If you are absolutely determined to get married now, on the original date the two of you picked out, it can be done. It may not be exactly how you originally imagined it and some additional planning will be necessary, but what the bride and groom want, the bride and groom get!
Keep It Small... or Virtual!
Social distancing is very important right now for everyone's health, so getting married at this time means your guest list will need to stay small, preferably below 50 guests. Be sure to check your city's rules about how many people may gather for an event and also ask the venue's policy about this.
If you will be limiting the guest list to immediate family only or are possibly planning on eloping with just the two of you, consider broadcasting the ceremony online or taping it to share with friends and family virtually at a later date. You can always plan a bigger, in-person party to include more guests down the road, maybe for your 1-year anniversary!
Give Guests a Free Pass to Skip the Wedding
Be sure to let everyone know that if they do not feel comfortable attending your wedding, that is perfectly okay. Tell them that they will be missed but there will be no hard feelings. Elderly guests or those with health risks may be much safer staying home but you don't want them to feel guilty about it.
Make Expectations Clear
Going out in public makes a lot of people uneasy nowadays. To make sure that your wedding guests feel safe, be upfront about what you expect from them at the ceremony and reception as well as your plans for making everyone comfortable.
Setting some guidelines about social distancing, masks, the dance floor, etc... is the best way to make the most people feel comfortable in the situation. Let everyone know if masks will be required and when it is acceptable to take them off. (For example, at the table while eating or drinking. Having a wedding planner or someone from the venue to enforce these "rules" lets you off the hook!)
A couple of "down-sides" to keep in mind is the fact that there will most likely be no hugging. If you are including dancing at the reception, that's a hard place to social distance and the loud music can make it more difficult to hear a conversation between people wearing masks that muffle their voices.
Also, plated meals rather than a buffet will ensure that nobody breathes on anyone else's food. On that note, double-check what your wedding vendor's expectations are of you and make sure that they agree to what you expect of them.
Have Some Fun With It
You know the old saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!" Even though planning this wedding during the current state of the world may add some awkward elements, play those up and have some fun with it!
Find cute masks for your wedding that can be given out as favors to guests. Hand sanitizer wedding favors are another great example of a favor that will come in handy. (Pun not intended!) Dress the bottles up with personalized stickers. These could even be great pace cards for the reception tables.
Put "X"s on the dance floor to show dancers their mark for keeping socially distant while getting down. Take guests' temperatures as they enter and then have them right that temp next to their name in the guest book. Your wedding photographer will be able to get a lot of fun shots of the two of you that will commemorate this moment in history in addition to the non-mask photographs.
As for shopping for all of those much-needed wedding decorations and accessories, our online wedding store allows you to shop from the comfort of your home, 24/7, and find nearly everything you need in one convenient place. Best of all, standard ground shipping is FREE on all orders delivered within the Continental USA. (There is a $10 flat-rate shipping fee on some heavy items.) Also, we do ship to military and APO/FPO boxes as well as PO Boxes.
Take a look around WhereBridesGo.com, discover some beautiful items to help you create a wonderful wedding, and let us help you make planning that wedding a little bit easier. If you decide to postpone your wedding date due to COVID-19, be sure to keep an eye out for the tips in next week's blog.
~The WhereBridesGo.com Team
Post by Deanna Powell, Certified Bridal Consultant