For many love-struck couples, the raging COVID-19 pandemic won’t be enough to stop them from taking their relationships to another level. Despite the perfectly visible threats of the crisis looming over people’s heads to this day, weddings still happen in states across the US. In fact, applications for marriage licenses in many counties surprisingly didn’t take a downhill trajectory, but an uphill one.
Government and health authorities allow such events to push through as long as certain precautions are observed by all attendees. Now, if you’re among the many individuals who have decided to tie the knot amid the pandemic, you should take note of some critical things to ensure the success of your planned wedding.
Here are five ways you should follow to make sure that your wedding won’t have any hiccup from start to finish:
Keep the guest list as slim as possible.
While you understandably would want to invite everybody close to you and your future spouse, the current crisis just can’t make it happen. Knowing this limitation, both of you should carefully deliberate on the names that would be included in your guest list, so it would have the essential people and not balloon to a number that’s hard to manage.
Ideally, you should leave out relatives or friends with a compromised immune system or comorbidity, since they are highly susceptible to COVID-19. Just politely inform them of your decision and explain why you can’t possibly invite them over to attend your wedding.
Make sure your venue has COVID protocols in place.
If you’ve decided on a venue to hold your nuptials, such as a beautiful country wedding venue with indoor and outdoor ceremony options, make sure that the place has appropriate and ample COVID protocols already. These should include ample space between guests, sanitation stations (with hand sanitizers, alcohol, or handwashing facilities), and safety signage in strategic locations such as the reception and wedding areas.
You should contact the local health authority where your venue is located to know what the minimum health protocols should be, so you could check if your venue is compliant with such COVID protocols.
Orient all your guests about your wedding protocol.
Once you have finalized your guest list, it’s now time for you to hold a short orientation about your wedding-day protocol. You can just schedule a Zoom or Google Meet call with all your attendees to discuss the details. If you can’t have everyone on board, you can simply record your message and send it to them one by one or through a group chat specifically meant for your wedding attendees and entourage.
This way, everyone attending your wedding will know what to do when they arrive at the venue until the event is over.
Check if your contracts allow for cancellation, rescheduling, and transfer of deposit.
Problems do happen even in the most carefully planned weddings, as such be sure to read the fine prints of your contracts with your wedding vendors. These include vendors supplying your flowers, cake, food, and the like.
Ideally, your vendors should have provisions for rescheduling and transfer of deposits to your new date. While you wouldn’t want to cancel on any vendor as a matter of goodwill given the pandemic, you’d be wise to also check whether vendors are open to cancellations just the same. These safety nets are just that — a sort of insurance should the unexpected happens and you have no choice but to reschedule or cancel the event (something you should work hard not to happen).
Make your wedding souvenirs/favors COVID-centered.
Your wedding favors or souvenirs are another important factors that you must consider, as they will serve as reminders to guests of your special day. As such, you should give special thought to what you would include in the bag or basket to hand over to your wedding guests.
While it’s typical to have traditional ones such as custom handicrafts, baked goodies, and miniatures, you should consider wedding favors that reflect the needs of the times. As such, you should consider as your wedding favors personalized hand sanitizers, soaps, and face masks. Your guests will not only appreciate the obvious gesture about personal safety, but they will also have a practical use for them. This is quite unlike many of the usual wedding favors that end up as decorations in guests’ homes or somewhere inside their tummies.
A COVID wedding surely has its share of unique challenges given the extraordinary circumstances, but it doesn’t have to be stressful for would-be spouses. Just follow these simple tips and your wedding would be relatively smooth and worry-free.
