Planning Your Wedding Around Coronavirus

You’ve likely ended up here because either yourself or someone you love is having COVID wedding concerns. You’re not alone.

The main choices you have when planning your wedding around coronavirus are the following, which I’ll expand on below.

• Wait + Hope
• Ceremony Now, Reception Later
• Eloping During Coronavirus
• Eloping After Coronavirus
• Full Reschedule

Although this isn’t an exhaustive list of your options, most COVID weddings will fall into one of these main categories.

Remember that there’s no right or wrong choice. You have to choose which option, or combinations of, are right for your situation.

Your Coronavirus Wedding Alternative Options Explained

Wait + Hope

Many couples are reluctant to reschedule or change current plans despite the pandemic. If this is you, I feel your pain!

Most brides and grooms wait roughly a year to get married. Some even longer…

Imagine planning the wedding of your dreams. Afterwards, you’re told you could have to extend your wedding date out another year for it to happen as planned. That’s a hard pill to swallow.

The truth is, we don’t know what types of gatherings will be allowed in the coming months.

Have you taken into consideration the health and safety of your guests? If so and if you’re still hoping to move forward as anticipated, your first option is to wait and hope.

Why postpone your original wedding plans when there are no restrictions on your date yet. Right?

If this is the approach you’re taking remember to keep an open mind. Be ready for the possibility of a coronavirus wedding postponement.

You’ll also need to take into account whether you have guests who are traveling. Your final decision on any wedding changes should be made at least 30 days out. This will give your out of state guests time to cancel travel plans.

Next, let’s say you’ve received news that gathering limits for your state are being capped at 10 people.

You still want to get married. What can you do?

Ceremony Now, Reception Later

This option is being chosen by COVID wedding affected couples who want to begin their marriage, but keep friends and family safe. Especially the elderly and guests with high risk.

When planning a wedding during coronavirus, you’ll need to obey current laws and gathering limits.

Your ceremony can either be a true elopement or it can be a smaller wedding celebration.

Keep in mind, your wedding vendors are included in your gathering size. If there’s a limit of 50 people and you plan to have an officiant and 2 photographers, along with yourselves, you’re able to invite 45 guests.

Here are some ideas you can implement:

• COVID Wedding Parade – Have guests drive past in their vehicles to congratulate you. This will create a fun environment and can keep everyone involved. Remember to obey social distancing.
• Different Scenery – Since your venue might not be able to reserve 2 dates for you, consider a nature or backyard ceremony.
• Remember to Celebrate – Even if you’re doing a true elopement, that doesn’t mean you have to say your vows and be done. CELEBRATE! It’s your wedding day! Remember to pop champagne, have your own first dance and bake a cake.
• Symbolic Ceremony – You can still have a ceremony or vow renewal for guests to witness after the pandemic, even though you’ve had a legal ceremony separately.
• Socially Distanced Ceremony/Reception – Have guests hop on Zoom, live stream your wedding or ask your guest list to record themselves dancing and celebrating with you from the safety of their homes. It’s a non-traditional way to bring everyone you love together safely.

Does sticking to one day sound better to you? Read on for more COVID wedding alternatives!

Eloping During Coronavirus

This option is great for couples who don’t want either the stress or any additional costs of breaking up their wedding ceremony and reception.

The wedding parade, including guests virtually and remembering to celebrate ideas listed above can still be implemented if you choose to call off the reception and solely elope during coronavirus.

Switching your wedding plans to an elopement opens up the doors to having a different style of wedding. Adventurous couples, nature lovers or brides who don’t want to be the center of attention – this one’s for you!

Click here to read more about the benefits of eloping.

Okay, so maybe with all of the uncertainty going around, scaling down to a small wedding sounds great, but you’d prefer to wait until after the coronavirus.

Eloping After Coronavirus

You might be realizing that an elopement is actually the perfect fit for you! You’ve already planned the whole “big wedding” thing once, and you’re not doing it again.

If you’re not in a hurry to tie the knot, canceling your original plans and waiting until things are more certain for your new elopement is a great alternative.

You’ll likely be able to travel to farther locations, won’t be limited by gathering sizes (for an intimate wedding) and can take the time to think of what your ideal elopement day will look like.

The final COVID-19 wedding option I want to share with you is this…

Full Reschedule

You want your wedding to happen as you’ve envisioned it and you’re willing to change the date to make that a reality.

This means that both your ceremony and reception will be moved to the new date. Your wedding will likely take place on the new date as close to originally planned as possible.

For anyone choosing a coronavirus wedding postponement, I want to encourage you to do one thing!

Celebrate your original wedding day.

Get ready in separate rooms then have a date night in. Complete with a homemade cake, your signature cocktails and wedding decor.

By the time your new wedding date rolls around, you’ll be that much more grateful to be standing at the alter with your person.

In Conclusion…

Hopefully, you’re beginning to see that your coronavirus wedding can still be beautiful and special.

Before making any final decisions, I recommend checking with your vendors to see what their policies and availability look like.

Click here to see how other couples got married during COVID-19!