Planning a Wedding During COVID-19

With vaccines and other medical treatments now widespread, many feel more comfortable planning and attending a wedding during COVID-19. Even so, depending on a person’s needs, there may still be a need for extra precautions to create a comfortable and safe environment.

If necessary, there is no problem with setting boundaries and guidelines for a COVID-19 wedding. Read on below for ideas on how to do so!

Track COVID-19 Updates From Your County

Checking the numbers for positive cases in your county will give you an idea of COVID-19’s current spread in your area.

If your venues for the wedding are being held in another county, then it’s as important (if not more) to check updates in that area. COVID numbers there will have a greater impact on festivities.

Tracking COVID-19 updates in a particular county will let you stay on top of their current guidelines. Depending on the area, there may be regulations about a venue’s max capacity or if masks are to be worn indoors.

If we’ve learned anything from the virus so far is that things can change at the flip of a switch and we have to stay on our toes. Flexibility for change is as important as planning ahead. Adaptability ensures that you stay on top of things for the show to go on at all!

Create Safety Guidelines

Depending on your needs, this can mean different things.

If you’d rather not have a big blow out where hundreds of people attend, then hop on the trend of micro weddings”, whic include a small guest list and a matching budget to boot. These intimate weddings have the aspects of a traditional affair on a smaller scale which may be appealing to those erring on the side of caution.

Other guidelines include asking your wedding guests to wear a mask and for them to track their symptoms and not attend if they are sick. There’s also requesting your attendants to take a COVID test before attending. If they test positive, they can either choose to bow out or take extra precautions to mitigate potential spread.

A person testing positive for COVID-19 happens suddenly. A guest could catch it and bring it to the wedding without realizing it. There might be some surprises, so stay aware of this possibility!

Communicate With Your Guests and Stay Organized

Organization is vital for any wedding, and now even more so with COVID-19. The challenges of the virus require an extra degree of planning and consideration. Working together with your venue, a planner, or a trusted family member and friend will help you to stay on top of your wedding and for the day to go smoothly.

Set your expectations ahead with guests far in advance so that there are no last-minute surprises. This way, guests can make the decision of how they would like to take part based on their own needs and comfort levels, and you can work around this.

As said earlier, there is always the chance of things coming up in ways you don’t expect. Someone, even you, could get sick at an inopportune time, meaning last-minute shuffling. If this happens, then continue to communicate this and any later changes. Directness is key; being upfront right away leaves little room for confusion.

Communicating this possibility with your wedding parties and guests is important. By being upfront, everyone will be aware.

Discuss a Backup Plan With Your Planner or Venue

So your worst-case scenario ends up happening––what now? First of all, give yourself a minute to breathe. Shuffling arrangements and appointments is stressful and it sucks, and there’s no other way around it. It’s okay to be frustrated and impatient and upset that things aren’t going as planned. It’s okay that you’re angry over last-minute changes and cancellations. A ton of time and energy is poured into making a wedding happen, and you might need space to grieve.

If there’s any consolation to these difficulties, it’s the understanding that everyone is navigating them together. Planners and venues know to expect only the unexpected with COVID-19 and to work around that. If your original plans get disrupted, reach out and communicate with your planner and venue. They are sure to work with you in creating a plan B and plan C if necessary, even including switching dates around.

Friendliness goes a long way, especially when living in strange and confusing times. Extend kindness to the people you’re working with, you are more than likely to receive it in return.

Wedding planning is already hard, and COVID-19 adds an extra challenge to a perfect storm of stress. Even though it’s frustrating, try not to give in to that storm––there are ways to weather the weather and sail out of it.