Did you ever think you would live through a global pandemic? Neither did I. This is CRAZY! I wanted to offer my thoughts on how to work through planning COVID-19 may be impacting as well as some ideas to consider for planning social events in the near future, after the shelter in place is lifted and the government restrictions are loosened.
Based in the Bay Area of California, I may have a slightly different perspective than planners in other states. I only know what I hear among those I am in constant communication with in the industry and also from my clients as they experience different obstacles. COVID-19 news changes daily and there seems to be two camps of people when it comes to social events - the hopeful and optimistic camp, and the terrified, conservative camp.
The hopeful camp currently, as of today (April 27, 2020), doesn’t have any government restriction against having their summer and fall 2020 weddings with (hopefully) 50 guests and vendors. A vast majority of planners in our area are encouraging their clients to postpone to 2021 at this point, even the events in the fall. That said, some are digging heels in and holding onto hope. I think it would be helpful to outline a few things for clarity.
If vendors are giving you a hard time postponing or cancelling, please understand their side of things before your next conversation with them. MANY if not all businesses in the wedding industry are very small with a vast majority self-employed and supporting other freelancers. It is how our industry is, and we all love and support one another. They may be unable to feed their families or keep their business open without that payment they were expecting from you, and likely have already spent the deposit you gave them last year to hold your date. Many people have non-refundable deposits so for those cancelling, I am so sorry, you will be out a good chunk of money… If postponing is an option most vendors are willing to reschedule for a new date and transfer the deposit amount to the new date. Some vendors may need to charge you for rescheduling to keep their business afloat in the meantime. Just give some grace to your vendors right now, they are all hurting, and they do feel REALLY sad for you.
If you are postponing your event, or just recently got engaged during shelter in place (FUN!) I highly recommend considering an elopement if you are keen to file your 2020 taxes as a married couple or just think its fun to get married on a memorable year like 2020. I also highly recommend you consider 2022 for your celebration instead of 2021. Why? Because ALL of the spring 2020 couples have moved their dates to either fall of 2020 or 2021. That means that vendors may be overbooking themselves in order to make ends meat and survive this economic disaster. Overbooked vendors are exhausted ones. The good ones are booked fast on a normal year, and now with 2021 weddings that were postponed there is even lower likelihood they will be available on the date you select. Is 2022 sounding better yet? If not, consider that social distancing will still be a reality for many people you would like to attend, and we don’t know when they will have a vaccine for COVID-19 so even 2021 weddings may need to be postponed until we do.
Many in the industry are trying to figure out how to celebrate two people and families coming together with social distancing measures still encouraged and enforced. Here are some things I am thinking through. The news changes daily so this may be outdated in a few days:
Offer guests masks at ceremony, and again after dinner is served
Have a table for each family unit (2 people at a table, how fun!! It will be like a restaurant!!)
Sanitation stations with wipes and other hygiene products
Offer plated service or keep it casual with disposable containers guests can throw away after touching
Buy pool donuts to offer a bumper “buffer” during the dance party
Have a standing-only ceremony with guests gathered all the way around you, 6ft apart…
ELOPE with all the vendors you have deposits with and celebrate later.
Call your parents and grandparents and talk openly about your concern for their health, allow them space to tell you their actual comfort level with attending on your date. Call family and friends with kids for the same reason.
Have someone take temperatures of guests on arrival (still figuring out if this would be a responsibility of the venue or bring in a service to assist)
Your RSVPs likely won’t come in until the last second. If you are able, set time aside to call each of your 50 guests (or less) to see where they are with the decision to attend. Be understanding if they aren’t comfortable!
If you would like to talk through your own ideas, stresses, or need any planning assistance right now, I want to encourage you to contact us (click that big button below) for a consultation. We are here for you!