Planning a Wedding around the COVID-19 Outbreak

Eight tips to help navigate planning your wedding around the COVID-19 outbreak of 2020.

Let’s get right into it:

1. Don’t panic and look to your team – Anyone planning their wedding right now should combat the sky-is-falling mentality and stay level-headed while making reasonable adjustments to their 2020 wedding. Remember, “at the end of the day, everyone is in uncharted territory—but we’re in it together.”  (WeddingPro) Look to your wedding team – planner, florist, venue, rental company, photographer – as a source of direction and comfort.

2. Adjust your timelines – For brides planning for fall 2020 and spring 2021 weddings, realize that anything being shipped from overseas will be delayed. Beth Chapman of The White Dress by the Shore says “Normal manufacturing lead times from international dress designers is 12–16 weeks, but now we are seeing those timelines grow to 16–25 weeks, which isn’t affecting current couples, but will impact brides shopping for their fall and spring weddings.” 

3. Ask guests to be considerate of others by not attending if they are sick – Many medical professionals are advising the same precautionary measures that should be taken during any other regualr flu season. Accordingly, one wedding planner says she is encouraging her clients to consider putting on their wedding websites that if guests are sick, they should not come to the wedding. 

4. Limit shared surfaces at your events – Eliminate as many shared surfaces as you can. Consider, for example, “dedicating someone from your team to be ‘master of the photo booth’ for a touch-free experience or have a manned food station to limit the number of people touching the same surface.” One wedding expert even recommends considering a switch from buffet style meals to plated dinners.

5. Make hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes available at your event – Wedding experts, in accordance with the CDC’s recommendations, recommend making sanitary products available to your wedding guests. You can do this by (1) placing hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes in easily accessible areas or (2) assigning members of your wedding party the tasks of offering hand sanitizer to guests and frequently wiping shared surfaces such as table tops, bar counters, and bathroom surfaces.

6. Be creative in how you share your experience with guests who are now unable to attend – If a significant portion of your guests are now unable to attend you wedding, consider reallocating some of your budget to making it possible for those guests to experience the wonder of your day in other ways. For example, maybe workout a gameplan with your videographer to make your wedding video available sooner, or even live-streamed.

7. Be flexible and have a plan B – If your wedding is still a couple months or more away, you may not want to make any changes just yet. At the same time, you could do well to build some flexibilty into your plans. For example, if you haven’t booked a venue yet, you may consider looking for a location that won’t have any associated cancellation costs if you do end up needing to cancel or postpone your event, e.g. a family member’s back yard or a church’s outdoor facilities. Utilize a wedding website or group email list as a way to notify all of your guests of any changes to your plans quickly and easily.

8. Consider postponing the party, but still carrying out the ceremony – The COVID-19 outbreak is cause for most wedding vendors to be empathatic and considerate when it comes to standard cancellation policies. With that being said, our team recommends allowing your life and dreams to carry on despite the mayhem that appears to be going on around us. If it is at all possible, consider with your partner the pros and cons of shrinking your ceremony to include only the closest friends and family members while postponing the reception to a future date. Plus, most vendors allow non-refundable deposits to be transferred to future dates anyways, so this would minize the financial damage that cancelling your wedding activities would cause.