The COVID-19 virus has brought many challenges to all of us. This is especially true for weddings. Couples are faced with either postponing, canceling or changing their initial plans. Many weddings in Florida are destination weddings and with travel restrictions, it made it impossible for couples to even get to Florida. Social distancing, facemasks, and limitations to guest counts are just a few hurdles.

Weddings are often planned for more than a year in advance. Couples put a lot of time and effort into this important day in their life. COVID-19 just brought everything to a standstill with even greater challenges in deciding what to do next. While many of our couples have to or chose to postpone there are a few that are determined to go forward with their wedding plans. Nothing can stop us, even if we have to make adjustments. So how to plan a safe wedding during COVID-19 Coronavirus?.

Planning a Florida wedding during COVID-19

10 Tips on what to do or to expect when planning a wedding during the COVID19 pandemic in Florida

While there is no simple answer or advice that fits everybody’s plans, a wedding during COVID 19 is possible if you are ready to make some adjustments, are flexible and limit your guest count.

Tip #1 Guest count is the key

With social distancing and restrictions, you should keep your guest count to a minimum. This might be very difficult for large families but will be the only option besides postponing. I personally recommend limiting the guest count for the ceremony under 20 people and plan for a family dinner afterward rather than a traditional reception. Because of the many restrictions that also apply to public beaches, parks, and outdoor locations. A small guest count is a key to success in finding a spot for your wedding.

Tip #2 Live stream your ceremony

One thing that would not have been possible without our today’s technology is having people virtually attend an event. If you have planned a large wedding and had to downsize it is a good idea to live stream your ceremony. Many professional videographers will offer this option.

Tip #3 Plan a simple reception or homespun celebration

It can be difficult to find a location that will be able to accommodate your wedding.  Restaurants and banquet facilities have to adhere to the maximum allowed guests within their facility. Rather than a traditional reception try to keep it simple and plan a dinner for only the closest family. Remember, you can always have a large reception down the road with all the bells and whistles you initially planned. Florida locals often have a homespun get-together at their house or backyard. If you are traveling to Florida or don’t have the option or space (aka apartment) you can try to rent a vacation home for your celebration.  Keep in mind you have to ask the owner if you are allowed to do so. We think this is one of the best options besides some other private wedding locations to celebrate your ceremony and reception during COVID-19.

Tip #4 Ceremony and wedding decoration

A smaller wedding will also most likely mean downsizing your initial plans on decoration. This is especially true for flowers. Work with your florist or provider on adjusting the floral design. If you just start planning your wedding you can make selections accordingly. Most locations will eliminate regular guest seating or only offer it to elderly or disabled guests who require to be seated. Almost all locations including public beaches that I know of in Florida will have a social distancing policy in place. Chairs will have to be set up 6 feet apart and therefore are only an option for guests who require seating.

Tip #5 Selecting the location

If you are downsizing a planned wedding and are unable to hold your wedding at the initial location for whatever reason be open-minded to alternatives. We have some wedding locations that are closed due to COVID-19 possibly until 2021. Some of them are State Parks and historic sites. If you feel overwhelmed get help from a local wedding planner that has most of the information on closed locations on hand. Beaches like any other location will have specific COVID-19 regulations put in place.  They may differ from county to county and beaches can be closed from one day to the next no matter if you have a permit or not.

Tip #6 Be prepared to adjustments

COVID-19 is unpredictable and there are some things that are just not in our hands. If you are going ahead with planning your wedding during a pandemic you have to be prepared that things may have to be adjusted, or can end up being postponed again.

Tip #7  Work closely with your vendors

If you already have vendors booked try to work out to reschedule or adjust services already purchased. Keep in mind we all sit in the same boat. In a time like this vendors will do the best they can to accommodate changes to your schedule, guest count, and already booked services. If you are choosing new vendors keep in mind that we, as wedding service providers have to be able to prepare for your event within an adequate time frame. COVID-19 can impact the availability of specific items. There may be delays in getting supplies or they are flat out not available. Unforeseen price changes due to supply and demand can happen. These price changes can make it necessary to adjust costs that have not been calculated previously.

Tip #8 How about keeping it safe for everybody involved?

A wedding is one of the biggest social events in our society. So how to get around social distancing at a social event? The answer is easy, keep it small and safe by abiding by the recommendations given to us. Is it optimal to have masks on during the ceremony and standing 6 feet apart? Definitely not, but it is necessary for your safety and everybody else working or attending your wedding. Some service providers may handle safety measurements for a wedding during COVID-19 differently.

Our company and all vendors that we are working with are practicing safety measurements until COVID-19 policies are lifted. What that means to you is, that all our service providers including ourselves are wearing protective facemasks at indoor and outdoor locations.  We are asking all attendants and guests including the bride and groom to wear protective face masks during the ceremony. For the reception facemask policies may apply depending on the location. As mentioned above other companies may handle this differently, but we are determined to keep everybody healthy and safe.

Tip#9 What about my wedding photos? The Facemask Nightmare

Talk to your photographer and their policies during COVID-19. Here at Events and More Inc, I work around this problem in different ways. While currently, all photos during the ceremony will be with face masks on, I do stage some photos after the actual ceremony. I also will take all group photos and photos of the bridal couple without masks if requested. Personally, I will always stay a 6 feet distance from my subjects and wear a facemask. I also require a COVID-19 liability waiver to be signed by all participants when photos without masks are requested. As a visual artist and people photographer, I feel quite uninspired by the look at photos where half of the face is covered. But we do what we can in a time like this. With a bit of creativity, you can still have beautiful wedding photos.

TIP #10 Postpone or skip 2020 for your wedding if you can

Given that you will have quite some restrictions and uncertainty for 2020, the best tip I can give you as a wedding planner is to postpone or plan your wedding next year. While we will not know what the future brings, it will give you a chance to keep your wedding plans closer to what you had envisioned in the first place. If you just starting out in planning your wedding keep in mind we have almost 90% of all weddings from 2020 postponed to 2021 or even later. Dates, especially weekends will be booked out heavily and availabilities can be quite limited. There are only so many weekends in a year. For couples that go by the motto “Nothing can stop us now” and plan to marry in 2020, we are here to assist you. I don’t encourage couples to go ahead and hold their wedding at a time like this, but understand the reasons why some couples have no other choice. Since we are specialized in small weddings, we have the know-how to make your wedding during COVID-19 extra special, even if it is just for the two of you.  Shoot us an email or contact us.

Facemasks for weddings – Not trendy but necessary

Couples that are planning their wedding during the COVID-19 pandemic will have to consider adding facemasks to their wedding attire. On the internet, many designer facemasks, bridal masks, and groom-specific masks are popping up at sometimes outrageous prices. We want to look our best on the wedding day and unfortunately wearing a mask is currently a necessity. However in my opinion it should never be a fashion statement as designers are trying to make us believe.

Many couples are already having a financial burden with cancelations and non-returned deposits or additional costs in moving ahead with their wedding in 2020. A Designer face mask can come with a hefty ticket price of $200 – $300. I definitely would skip that expense, even if proceeds are 100% donated to charity. With that said, most of us don’t want to look like coming fresh out of surgery on their wedding day. Thankfully we have some creative minds that save us money with some DIY ideas.

DIY Mask for your wedding

Alternatives to costly designer bridal masks or generic offers are DIY masks. You only need a sewing machine and a little knowledge of how to sew. So why not design your own masks. You can choose a material fitting your wedding attire and add pearls and rhinestones to the design for a little bling. If sewing is not your thing, or don’t have a sewing machine just ask family or friend to help you. I personally like the masks created for brides from India that are all over the internet. But you can find all kinds of inspiration for your DIY wedding mask online. If all fails there is always the option to buy an inexpensive plain mask and add some design yourself.

Daisy over at daisymultifacetica.com has perfected the art of  DIY facemasks and offers free sewing patterns with youtube instructions on making them yourself. Thank you Daisy for making those patterns available for free and contributing to the greater good.

BABETTE HILL – LIFESTYLE WEDDINGS