When Can You Safely Have a Destination Wedding?

When it comes to weddings, there are always questions. And with COVID, there are even more questions.

Because there is so much that you just don’t know.

And the BIG question I’ve been getting a lot recently is… when?

When will things be back to normal? When can my guests and I travel? And when can I safely have a destination wedding?

Because planning a destination wedding during COVID is its own brand of tricky.

But with vaccinations on the rise, guidelines evolving and restrictions easing, things are really starting to look hopeful.

And it’s very possible that soon things could look much different than they do today.

But how soon?

The first part of the answer depends on your wedding location and two specific things.

The first is how well the location is doing in terms of COVID rates and vaccinations.

If COVID rates are low or dropping and vaccinations are going well, that location will be opening up much quicker. But if one or the other is not going well, restrictions will be around for longer.

The second is how historically cautious the area has been.

A place like San Francisco or California for example has been very cautious when it comes to reopening. Until recently wedding receptions were not allowed at all. Where as a place like Texas is now 100% open.

So even if a location is doing well with COVID rates and vaccinations, they still might be slow to open up. Or the opposite.

So, what you need to assess is your wedding location in relation to these two things.

The second part to the answer to when, is when all your guests will be vaccinated.

It’s likely that you have wedding guests that live all across the country or even all across the world.

And while they don’t necessarily need to be vaccinated to travel, for most guests that is the only way they’re going to feel comfortable traveling.

And in some cases, it might be the only way they’ll be able to enter an area. Or at least enter without needing to quarantine.

So in order for them to attend, you’ll need to take into account how vaccination roll out is going in the areas your guests live.

Which leads us to the third part to the answer to when you can safely have your destination wedding… how the US is doing.

Now you might not be having an international wedding. But if you are, this is a big part to consider.

Because it’s not just your wedding location that you need to be looking at.

You also need to be paying attention to how the US is doing overall and if your destination country is allowing travelers from the US.

The better the US is doing, the more likely your destination country is open to visitors from the US.

So, with all of that being said, when can you safely have your destination wedding?

While I obviously don’t know for sure, here are my best guesses:

If you’re having a destination wedding in the US, you can probably safely plan for a COVID free, vaccinated wedding in the fall of 2021 or later.

If you’re having an international destination wedding, you can probably safely plan for a COVID free, vaccinated wedding in early 2022 or later.

Now these estimates are going to be slightly different depending on your location and your guests and the 3 factors we just talked about. But, I think these timeframes are a safe bet for most couples.

However if you want a more specific estimate, I highly recommend hiring a destination wedding planner.

We can help you with a best estimate for your situation and be able to take into account your specifics. And if you’re interested in working with us, we’d love that! All you have to do is get in touch here and we’ll set up a time to connect.