Did you recently get engaged? We hope however it happened that you were swept off your feet, especially after the whirlwind of last year.
First of all congratulations! We’re so excited for you and the journey you are about to embark on as a married couple.
We also know that 2020 was engulfed by the pandemic. We totally get this is supposed to be one of the most joyous times of your life; however, we also understand that trying to organize your special day in the midst of the pandemic can leave you with feelings of uncertainty and gloom. We’re here to try to relieve some of those feelings of uncertainty and provide you with tips on how to plan your wedding with as much ease as possible.
While nobody wants to hear this, our first recommendation is to have a longer engagement. Not only will this give you more time to plan, it will also hopefully land you in a spot where the majority of the population has been vaccinated, therefore restrictions on gatherings will (hopefully!) cease to exist. A longer engagement will give you time to save more money! This could make your dream of having a raw bar come true! Another factor is, this will have you only sending out save the dates and invitations once.
We also recommend that you create multiple guest lists. Start by creating a 100-person guest list, and then scale back to a 50-person list and a 25-person list. If you’ve also already postponed your wedding once before, you know it's better to play it safe than sorry! Having a Plan B...and C...and even D can avoid any stress!
Transparency is also a must throughout your engagement! Step one is creating a wedding website. By creating a wedding website, you’ll be able to post information to keep all of your guests up to date on the latest developments. Some information that can be included in these postings are total guest count, if temperatures will be taken upon arrival, and if waivers are going to be required by you and/or the venue. You can also include if guests will be wearing masks and who will be enforcing the use of masks throughout your wedding day. If you decide that guests do not need to wear masks, we recommend you use another system to inform other guests and wedding professionals that the guest does not have COVID (i.e. wristbands, stamps, etc.). We also believe hand sanitizer and extra masks should be made available throughout the day, which can be custom made through Etsy!
Finally, we also recommend that you come prepared with a list of questions to ask your wedding venue. To ensure the safety of you and your guests and the smooth execution of your special day, we recommend asking…
Will temperature checks be performed?
Will waivers need to be filled out?
Will your guests and staff be wearing masks?
Will you provide masks for your guests?
What is the rebooking policy if my state mandates that I can’t have an event based on my contracted guest count?
Will you provide hand sanitizer and/or will somebody be sanitizing frequently used surfaces throughout the building?
Once again, congrats on your engagement! These are unprecedented times, but by following our recommendations, we’re sure you can have a safe and memorable wedding day!
Xo The KE Team
Photo Credit from top to bottom: New England Portrait and Casey Dawn Photography
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we may receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.