{Professional Advice} Weddings during Covid-19
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We are so excited that we have weddings resuming in the coming months after this whirlwind that has been 2020!
I tend not to refer to the Pandemic as the “Coronavirus” but instead I like to call it “All this Mess” like the true southerner that I am and I truly can not wait for the day that “All this Mess” is behind us. For now however, there are certain precautions we need to consider if you are moving forward with your wedding. We will be here for you throughout the process to help as much as possible.
Earlier this month the CVB issued guidelines by the South Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association for banquets and meeting spaces. While there was quite a bit of information for events, they did little to address the concerns on how we move forward safely with weddings specifically. Weddings are such a unique dynamic versus a meeting or convention.
The Governor did release a detailed document on the processes of reopening that are addressed here:
Here’s a snapshot of the wedding specific information:
I am not going to be shy about mentioning that they obviously did not seek the advice of a wedding planner or apparently anyone familiar at all with the inner workings of facilitating a wedding.
There’s no timeline stated for reassessment, so we will need to assume that this will apply to events this summer and fall of 2020 or until further notice. Please note that while these are the guidelines as I am writing this, it could change at any given moment and we need to be understanding, flexible and adaptive. Additionally, it places a lot of the compliance aspect on the shoulders of the individual venues and catering companies to come up with their own policies. What we do know is that most weddings will need to be adjusted in some way. Whether it is in guest size, floor-plan and set-up or eliminating self service stations, we will work with the venues and clients to address each wedding individually.
What should we be thinking about for your upcoming wedding?
Capacity is currently limited to 50%.
Each venue will need to clarify their capacity limits with clients. You will need to decide if you need to make updates to your invitation list if necessary.
Social distancing is expected to be maintained.
This is a tricky one. I believe this could be interpreted to social distancing between households should be maintained. This may require a detailed RSVP list of the number of households and number of members of that household that will be attending so that we can set-up appropriately as well as determine seating needs for ceremony and reception. If we are handling your floor-plan and rentals, we will integrate this into floor-plans and adjust rentals as needed. We will follow up and confirm capacities for our clients again at approximately the month mark and use your RSVP list with the current spacing guidelines to update your floor-plan and rentals accordingly.
Guests should be healthy.
Some venues may require temperature checks. If this is the case, clients should plan on designating a trusted family member or friend or perhaps hire an outside medical professional to take temperatures. Guests should also plan to arrive earlier so they have enough time to be checked. I’ve put a lot of thought into whether or not wedding planners could take on the additional responsibility of taking temperatures but the fact of the matter is that we unfortunately are simply already too busy with set-up and preparing to help facilitate the processional as well as taking care of our other duties. As much as we would want to extend this service, it’s just not something that’s possible for us to do while keeping your timeline on schedule.
A variety of non-contact thermometers can be found on Amazon. Be sure to check the number of reviews and see how far back the reviews go. We looked at ones that had high ratings and are not new listings. The Equinox Digital Thermometer looked to have good ratings and seems cost effective.
Consider a pre-screening via email survey. Guests that have experienced fever/flu symptoms within 96-hours, have travelled to highly affected areas or have been directly exposed to a person with symptoms and associated risk factors with-in 14-days leading up to the event, should be prohibited from attendance.
Dance floors.
There is nothing mentioned about them anywhere in any guidelines, so the plan will be to have a much larger than average dance area.
Extra staff may be required for cleaning.
I appears like weddings may need a bathroom attendant and/or someone that is wiping down and sanitizing high use items. Whether this staff is supplied by the venue, catering or subcontracted by the client, you can expect there to be some staffing fees associated with this.
A variety of sanitizing products should be made readily available for guests.
There are some large ones available to rent (http://www.eventworksrentals.com/index.php?/product/hand-sanitizer-station). You could also have smaller versions on guest tables, bars and everywhere the guest may not have a need.
Hand Sanitizer bulk packs are available on Amazon as well as cleaning wipes. My suggestion would not be to put them in restrooms however since they are not meant to replace hand washing.
Extra staff or other precautions may be required for food and beverage service.
Depending on the individual venues or caterers, we may be looking at additional service set-ups and extra serving staff, or plexiglass shield rentals, and/or additional boxes or disposable service containers for passed hors d'oeuvres etc. The above will either be rented, which we would take care if we are handling your rentals or ordered through your caterer or you would be able to order them personally depending on your caterers request. Essentially in the strictest application of the guidelines, there will be no unprotected food displayed or moving through the venue. Here’s some cute petite craft boxes for passed items. More lenient interpretations would have servers passing the hors d'oeuvres in individual service vessels handing those to the guests verses the guest picking up the app directly off of a serving tray. Here’s some great mini app vessels.
Wedding Cake.
Options might include a small ceremonial cutting cake or a non-edible display cake with an area of real cake for ceremonial cake cutting purposes. The real cake will be stored properly in the back for serving. The real cake could be displayed, but roped off in some way. (You would not cut that cake however sadly!) Perhaps some individual cupcakes in cute packages would be a great way to celebrate.
While there is a lot to take into consideration, all of your wedding vendors will be working together to provide the safest, yet most enjoyable, experience possible. We will work with each of your venues and caterer on implementing the most up to date safety precautions as they deem necessary. We are so excited to get back to the business of weddings. We miss them so much!
Until next time, Love & Virtual Hugs!
~Beth