Main Image: BRIDE - 👰 Lexi Burek PHOTO CREDIT - 📷 Lauren Anderson Photography
COVID-19 has required all of us to up our safety standards, and make changes to how we normally operate. We have had to do this in our store at ADORE. In order to have in-person bridal appointments, we have to require masks & set our store up for easy social distancing. As hard as this is, it is important to us to keep everyone safe. With so many changes and uncertainties ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are wondering what the future of weddings will look like? As no one knows exactly at the moment, there are some things we can know now and prepare for!
All venues and wedding vendors are evolving, they are trying to figure out how to ensure safety and meet the rules set out by the government to be compliant. Many of these adjustments will be being made in the Venue locations and with caterers. We have collected information from our fellow vendors, while also keeping up to date on reading the CDC and State recommendations. Here are some steps vendors and venues are taking, which can help guide you in what to ask when booking or rescheduling your wedding event, as well as know what to expect.
gloves & masks
Many planners are now talking about how to easily distribute masks, and/or gloves to guests. You could provide these to guest upon entry, or ask guests to bring their own. If you provide them, you could hire a local seamstress to make some in bulk that fit the theme of your wedding! (Check out our Facemask Tutorial HERE) Many states are requiring masks in indoor locations, so check with the current mandates of your State. Other factors to consider with masks would be influenced by the location of your event, in addition to the layout of you ceremony & reception. Consider how many guests will attend and how far a part you can keep everyone with social distancing. Frequent hand washing, disinfecting surfaces and wearing masks are all recommended strongly right now. Many venues are adding extra places for guests to wash hands. If you are planning a fall wedding, keep this in mind since the experts are talking about a second wave of the virus popping up this fall.
I get masks may be required still for my day, but gloves?
Historically speaking and in some cultures, wearing gloves is a sign of privilege and status. So, deciding on fashion gloves for the bride could not only be an elegant accessory, but during this pandemic period keep you a little safer against the virus! Think of how beautiful Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn looked in their white gloves! 😍 Timeless!
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Photo's: Guest Mask Link. Bride Mask Link
sanitizing solutions
Be sure to talk with your vendors, especially your venue, about their cleaning protocols. With your guests on-site - no matter how many - there will be many places where contact will happen. Think through these moments, such as pulling out seats, guests moving about between rooms, shaking hands & hugging. In the places these happen, find solutions with your venue on how to have sanitizers and wipes easily accessible.
Some questions you may want to ask you vendors are: "How can we keep our guests safe?" How many touch points will each guest have with staff?" "How do you clean the rented items?" "Will staff have to be wearing PPE?" Don't be shy to ask any and all questions you have regarding your personal safety as well as for your guests. Being able to answer these questions will also help you to be able to put to ease any concerned guests.
CONTACTLESS GREETINGS
Consider alerting your guests with how to greet each other at your event! Perhaps with a simple wave, wink, or elbow high five.
Now, we know that the bride and groom greeting each guest is traditional etiquette for couples at weddings, but you may want to come up with an alternative during this new normal. Perhaps you can replace the traditional receiving line with a "gesture" line! It’s important to remind your guests of how to interact when they enter your wedding space. While people will be so excited to greet each other, social distancing signs and reminders could encourage your guests to be mindful as well.
Layout & Seating arrangements
It’s likely a type of post-pandemic design aesthetic will emerge in regards to how the layout of the ceremony and reception may be. Brides will have to get a little creative in keeping with the government guidelines. Right now as we write this, it is 6 feet social distancing as the standard rule. This makes it more important to keep in mind who sits with who, and how close. Spacing guests and keeping guests grouped by households is a good place to start.
When it comes to your ceremony, have an open mind to a more creative arrangement. Allowing for more space between guests, means you could have the chairs set up in a half moon, or even circle around the couple if space allows. This of course will depend on your venue, but start thinking now about how to work with your space to make the most of your space while keeping guests safely distant.
Seating arrangements have always been a source of stress, and sometimes tricky. Now, there are a few more things to consider when making the seating arrangements. For instance, if you have a friend who has recently traveled, seating them next to an elderly relative may not be wise. This unprecedented time calls for increased attention when it comes to seating arrangements, and proximity of guests in general.
ADD a FAQ to your wedding website
So girl, do you already have a wedding website? I know many of you do! As you go along in your planning, and even as you make changes, keep a FAQ page updated on your wedding website. This will help put your guests at ease during this strange new time, and new era of weddings. Include all the safety measures you are taking in a question-and-answer format.
These are just some ideas to think about as you move forward with your wedding! Whether you are keeping your fall date, rescheduling a summer date or just getting started for 2021! Keep up to date with your State's mandates and the CDC's recommendations. You can have a beautiful wedding, and a safe one too!
XOXO,
The Adore Squad