How To Adjust Your Wedding in the Midst of Coronavirus

It’s been only two weeks since our last blog about Coronavirus and already so many things have changed. It feels like every day, heck every hour, new information and restrictions are being put into place.

There are new recommendations from the CDC banning events larger than 50 people for the next two months. And some places, like right here in the San Francisco Bay Area, are in a lockdown for the next few weeks.

All of which means things are getting serious.

Not that they weren’t serious before. But if you’ve seen the lines to get into grocery stores, the empty shelves or the deserted freeways, you know things are serious.

And with all of this, the question is, what now?

What happens to your wedding now?

Like everything else right now, changes will need to be made.

Obviously these restrictions immediately affect the weddings happening within the next few months.

But even if your wedding isn’t happening quite yet or you just got engaged, you need to start thinking about how to adjust your wedding in the midst of Coronavirus.

Because a wedding in August or October or December or even next year will likely still be affected by Coronavirus to some degree.

We obviously don’t know what will happen. But, my guess is that this is going to be something that will affect us for at least the rest of the year.

So that means it’s time to be proactive.

Just like how we’re being proactive and doing our social responsibility to help prevent the spread.

You need to be proactive with your wedding.

That means thinking through the possibilities and how you can adjust your wedding to take into account the Coronavirus.

Now postponing or cancelling are the two obvious options.

But, I’d like you to consider a third, downsizing.

You could downsize to a small wedding of 30-50 people. Or downsize to an elopement or micro wedding of 2-15 people.

I know small weddings and elopements are not for everyone. But, in this current climate it’s not only necessary, but socially responsible.

And unless you’re willing to wait out the Coronavirus and only have your wedding once it’s 100% safe, you’re going to have to make some changes.

Because you’re excited to get married! And you should be.

Waiting to get married isn’t a great choice for many.

So, how do you downsize your wedding?

How To Downsize Your Wedding in the midst of coronavirus

To downsize your wedding, you’re going to want to start with your guest list.

And there are two questions you need to ask yourself:

#1 – Who do you have to have at your wedding?

Make a short list of your must have guests. Or take your already made guest list and make adjustments.

And #2 – Where do these people live?

Because the people you want at your wedding will dictate location.

As much as we love destination weddings, traveling right now or in the near future is not socially responsible. At least by air.

So you’ll either be getting married where you live or where your people live.

Now there’s a chance you won’t be able to have everyone at your wedding. But, if you can have most, that’s what you’re aiming for.

But, let’s say your people live all over the world, what then? Your best bet is going to be eloping.

But before you get sad, eloping isn’t such a bad thing. Celebrating alone is intimate, private and special.

And then there’s no travel and no worrying over your guests.

And don’t forget you can always have a big celebration when it’s safe. But, this way you don’t have to worry about endangering anyone else and you can still get married.

Once you’ve figured out your guest list and your location, then it’s time to think about where you’ll get married.

In this uncertain climate, we don’t know what will happen with wedding venues and restaurants. So, if you have a nice backyard or know someone who does, this is a great opportunity to use it.

But, if you don’t, choose your venue or restaurant carefully. Do your best to pick one that hopefully will still be around when your wedding happens.

And to protect yourself, consider getting some wedding insurance (read the fine print though). It can help cover you for any financial loss from a vendor going out of business.

Because the sad reality is that small businesses are already hurting. And at the end of all of this, we don’t know who will remain.

Having insurance can help protect you and your deposits.

Now what happens if you’ve partially planned your wedding or you have a few things already in place?

Take a look at what you have planned and then see if a downsized wedding would still work. Maybe the venue has a nice intimate spot you could use. Or your florist can easily just reduce your order.

You may have to adjust some things especially if your location changes. But, you may also be able to use what you have just in a different capacity.

I know things are stressful right now no matter where you are in the planning process. But, remember that there’s always a solution.

Right now we just need to be smart, safe and proactive. And downsizing your wedding is a great option.

For more help creating your intimate wedding, contact us today. We can walk you through your options and help you figure out what makes sense.