Oh, how the world has changed – and it keeps changing, day by day.
We have no idea how long this Covid-19 situation will go on for, so we better look at how to navigate the rules and regulations, and make the best decisions we can.
What can I do?
Here are a few things that I am doing to help stop the spread and keep you and your family and friends safe.
*All my equipment is routinely cleaned and sterilized, between weddings and wherever physically possible, between users, too.
* Assisting, where necessary, to comply with social distancing rules and sign-in procedures.
* Free PDFs for Contact registration , pre-wedding Covid instruction emails
What can you do?
Seat households and family members together, wherever possible.
Ask your guests to stay home if they are unwell.
Provide a station for tissues, hand sanitizer, and face masks, just as you would provide sunscreen, water and insect repellent in the summer. Hey – load up on all of it and look like the best hosts ever.
Provide space for a guest log for each guest to record their details. We must do this, by law – and maintain details for 1 month.
How do we go ahead, when everything is different to what we expected?
IF YOU ARE IN THE EARLY STAGES OF PLANNING, think small. Not only will you find that your wedding is more intimate and relaxed than you ever imagined, small weddings are the ones most likely to go ahead as you imagine them. You’ll also save a lot of money!
BUT, IF YOUR WEDDING IS ALREADY ON APPROACH…
Be prepared for a different experience. Never before have we been in a situation where your wedding may not be the day you had always dreamed of.
If you want to postpone – and your venue will allow it – do it.
If that’s not an option.
Look for ways to include those guests unable to be with us, due to travel restrictions, illness, or guest number restrictions.
Set up a video link and make a fuss of them. Remind them that we know they are there, and we appreciate it.
If close family and friends are unable to be with us, invite them to go old school and send messages to be read and shared during the ceremony and reception.
If guests need to be seated for the whole reception, consider shortening the event by an hour, if the venue will allow it.
Change your canape hour to post ceremony instead of pre-reception if you can, but ensure that Covid-safe practices for food service are observed.
Can’t do the traditional first dance, inside? How about doing it outside, after the ceremony?
If you are having more guests at the ceremony than the reception, how about bringing the cake to the ceremony and cutting and sharing it with your guests?
Consider a bigger gap between ceremony and reception, to avoid the awkwardness of some guests leaving and others being able to stay.
How about doing your location photos pre-ceremony, so that you can spend more time with your guests, instead of rushing away. This is especially important if many of them are only there for an outdoor ceremony