Just a few months ago, who would have thought we’d have to take social distancing into account when planning events? Well, here we are, and it’s incredibly important to keep it in mind as you plan your wedding in order to keep everyone—guests, vendors and you—safe. Here are a few things to consider as you plan your big day.
Ceremony
In Minnesota, weddings are allowed to accommodate 250 people, but you must take into account that the venue can only run at 25 percent of its capacity, so your guest list may need to be smaller than you originally planned. You must also ensure that there’s six feet of distance between different households at all times and your venue needs to accommodate this. The smaller your guest list, the easier this will be to achieve.
For your ceremony, you may want to consider assigning seats for your guests. This way you can ensure the proper distance between households so everyone will be safe.
Though it’s not often the case anymore, traditionally, wedding party members walked down the aisle alone. If you are still choosing to have a wedding party, consider not pairing anyone to walk together. Since they’ll need to stay six feet apart, it may make sense to keep your wedding party small.
Photography
While photographers are experts at capturing the intimate moments of you and your soon-to-be spouse, it can be difficult to corral family members even without the difficulties presented by a pandemic. Consider a photography schedule and appointing someone to help you stick to it and gather family when it’s time for photos. If you shift and stagger smaller groups during certain parts of the day (getting ready rooms, family photos, wedding party) this will allow you to get all the shots you want while keeping everyone safely distanced.
Getting Ready
It’s so special to get ready for your big day with all your loved ones, and it’s a great environment for some lovely photography. But it’s just not safe anymore to have so many people packed into a small room. To keep social distancing a priority, think about having a smaller group—just a few people total—or rent a larger space so everyone can properly socially distance. Remember: whether your group is small or large, everyone will still need to stay six feet apart. It may make more sense to have wedding party members get ready before arriving. Plus, they can still be part of the photographs where you make your big reveal, just in a larger space.
Transportation
There’s no easy way to put six feet between people in your transportation. The safest way would be to ask your guests to manage their own transportation. If that’s not possible, you could opt for a bus, but note that you’ll have to ask people to keep to their households and leave some seats/rows in between others.
Reception
Seating at the reception may not be too difficult, as long as you keep households together and space your tables a full six feet apart. If possible, it might make sense to have a few different sizes of tables so you can accommodate different group sizes.
The dance is a different story. If you’re properly socially distancing, a traditional dance is basically impossible. You may choose to forgo a dance altogether and just do a first dance as a couple. Remember, you can always do a reception down the road like you’ve always dreamed.
