How We Planned Two Weddings During COVID
Given teachable moments are at the core of what we do here at Planner Life Academy, we wanted to walk you through our experiences of planning two weddings during the COVID pandemic. The weddings we planned were very different from one another (from the location to the circumstances) and we wanted to share this with you in hopes our experiences help you navigate through these uncharted territories.
A quick note before we dive in: all but two of our 2020 weddings decided to postpone to 2021. These are the two stories we are sharing.
Heather’s COVID Wedding in Orange County, California
I spoke with each of my clients about all of the uncertainty and most decided to postpone to a 2021 date. However, one of my couples decided to stay the course in hopes they could at least have a 30-60 person wedding before they relocated to Europe for work. Because of this big life event it was important that they get married before they moved out of the country. So, our plan was to postpone 6 weeks in hopes that the additional time would allow us to be able to move forward.
Details for this wedding:
Venue | Pelican Hill Resort: Instead of using the ballroom we planned to have the wedding completely outside utilizing their outdoor space so the rules were similar to a restaurant’s outdoor dining.
Guest List: 100
One major stressor was that there was a spike in cases around the wedding date and were concerned that a full stay at home order might be issued. This would have made any gatherings impossible but, thankfully, that didn’t happen. And, our biggest planning challenge was due to the ever changing status of in-person gatherings and events so we had to come up with multiple backup plans and scenarios. This made it very challenging to solidify anything. So, in order to keep our heads from spinning, this was what we came up with:
Plan A | Best case scenario: As close to a regular wedding as possible 100+ guests, ceremony, cocktails, dinner and dancing
Plan B | Distanced and masked but semi normal: Less than 100 guests. Masked, socially distanced ceremony, no cocktail hour, dinner socially distanced outside, no dancing (This is what ended up happening.)
Plan C | Trimmed down: Distanced and masked. Under 20-30 guests ceremony and dinner only
Rules We Followed:
Masks required at all times when guests were not seated at the dinner table
Everything was outside
Hand santizers were available for guests
All vendors wore masks
Lindsay’s COVID Wedding | Cleveland, Ohio
I was fortunate enough that all my clients decided to postpone until 2021 (also allowing for my move back to Cleveland for the time being). But, then I got a call from my best friend asking if I could help plan a last minute wedding for her sister in law and, of course, I jumped at the chance! Kerry and Patrick had welcomed their baby boy in July at 25 weeks weighing 1.9 lbs (this little warrior is now over seven pounds but still has a long road ahead) and while they were going through all of this they also found out that Patrick’s father was fighting for his life with a recent diagnosis of cancer. So, COVID or not, it was really important to them to get married and we had 2 months to plan it! Good news was we already had the perfect venue.
Details for this wedding:
Venue | Groom’s Family Home: We utilized their backyard for their ceremony and reception.
Guest List: 49
Due to the wedding being at their home, the planning experience didn’t end up being as stressful as I thought it would be; though we did make sure to take necessary precautions to ensure it was as safe as possible.
Our biggest planning challenge was the officiant being very cautious due to his age (amongst other personal things), so we made sure to walk through the entire ceremony to ensure he was as comfortable as possible. This included having him walk down with a mask on, having the couple stand 6 feet away from him, having the ring bearer hand the rings to the groom so he wasn’t touching anything, and signing the marriage license ahead of time. I also had him wait in his car until we were ready for him so he could avoid having to interact with the guests or get close to them.
Rules We Followed:
Everything was outside
Hand santizers and masks were available for guests
Appetizers were served individually in their own little containers so there wasn’t any cross contamination
Spread out tables to 6 feet apart and seated families together
All vendors wore masks
I think the biggest lesson we both learned during our experience planning a wedding during COVID is that no situation is alike and there is a lot of uncertainty. This means setting expectations for yourself and your couples is key and constant communication is essential!
Want more advice about planning a wedding in a pandemic? We have a free video training for you! Watch it through the link below.