Another October Wedding - What Should We Do in Our Situation?

If You're That Worried About The Guests Then I'd Say Go Ahead And Push It Back.

If You Want To Get Married On That Date Still You Can And Have Your Big Wedding In April.

I Think You Will Be Fine To Have Your Wedding In October, But April Will Relieve Some Of The Stress You Are Feeling And Probably some Of The Guests Too. Theres Really No Telling Which Would Be "Safer" Considering A Second Wave Isn't 100% For Sure Going To Happen. Good Luck

I think October is far enough away that you will be safe to have the wedding you want. Whether or not we have a 2nd wave, is one thing, but I really don't think the world will shut down again. And truth be told most elderly are vulnerable and whether or not you postpone there could be something else that comes up in between.

Ultimately it's up to you and your FH. Are you OK with downsizing the wedding if that's a requirement? Only you can weigh the odds and decide what's best for you, your FH, family and guests.

Our wedding is scheduled for 10/10 and we have no plans to postpone but we are also on the smaller size at less than 50 as well as a destination wedding.

I am especially worried about our three grandparents, especially mine who is much older. But their risk won't change if we wait. I don't want any of them to get sick, but I don't know if moving it by 6 months will change it all that much.

As for downsizing, I don't think I would want to go below 100 guests. I don't think there will be a requirement, though. Now it might be that some of our guests don't want to come, and that is what it is.

What state in the Southeast?

Not to be a downer, but just because states are opening up, doesn't mean they are safe. GA, FL, and NC are all seeing major spikes right now, and their first wave isn't over, yet. It's hard to say if they will reinstate restrictions... or just do the Swedish model (which has it's own problems).

If you are not feeling safe, and you have vulnerable guests... I'd postpone.

So I don't want to turn this into a coronavirus debate thread but FL and GA actually aren't seeing "major spikes". If you look at these graphs (GA, FL) from the NYT, you can see the 7-day average is actually pretty flat, and both states are in the middle of the pack for cases per 1M (per Worldometers). Just irks me because both of those states have gotten a lot of flack for how they handled things but the numbers aren't bearing out the worst-case scenario that it seems like some people are almost hoping for. /endrant

We will definitely postpone if we think it would be safer, I'm just not sure if it would be better, worse, or no different to move it to April.

I feel for you, because the truth is, no one really knows what to expect. Personally, I'd wait to make a decision for two - three weeks because my state just reopened and I'd want to see if there's a spike. However, I'd definitely lean toward postponing since you won't really lose any money.

And I live in CT, an hour outside of Midtown. You are 2nd in cases/million and we are 6th. I am very much aware of what the situation has been in the tristate area and New England the past few months. It does not change what the numbers are in other parts of the country, and the fact that GA and FL ( here is another graph ) have not seen the "major spikes" that were predicted when they reopened. Everywhere isn't NY. Not everything is catastrophic. I also don't know how a decreasing or stable 7-day average might look anything other than flat?

Does this mean I'm going to forge ahead with my wedding? No, not necessarily.

Thanks Kayse! We are going to wait for July to decide, but I honestly kind of want to move it. I just don't want April '21 to be just as bad. But I was thinking about how we have 4 months to go and I was like, I don't really want this to be the lead-up to my wedding.

Hi Tiger Bride! Has your venue or other vendors given you a deadline for making the decision? I know that watching & waiting has to be excruciatingly painful for planning couples right now, but the situation is still changing so quickly that it's still difficult to make these decisions months in advance!

I'd also talk to a few of your guests that would be traveling cross-country and put out some feelers! Since it sounds like most of your guests would need to fly to attend, their comfort level with air travel will definitely be a big factor! Or even - how comfortable will they feel when they need to make those hotel & airline reservations (June-Aug?)? 🤷

I know how you feel. I moved mine to December from June, but I still can't let myself get too excited because who know what winter will look like. I will say I felt a lot better once we made the decision.

Hi Lynnie! You have some great advice here!

I have to say we have been quite blessed with our vendors. Our reception venue is a city park with a pavilion and the events coordinator basically told us she wouldn't let anyone book it until we had decided what to do. Our photographer said he would hold it until someone else asked and he hasn't reached out in the three weeks since.

I've been trying to put out some feelers but I've been wondering if people have been hesitant to say. Since we're aiming to decide in July I think when that gets closer we might have some more pointed conversations with people and just be like hey, be honest, what do you think.

You are absolutely right about it being hard to make decisions months in advance. To be honest, I am kind of leaning towards April, but I don't know if things might even be worse then. It is so so hard!

I'm pulling my information from the NYT map. I see orange and red in a lot of places in the southeast.

I live in NC and while we have opened some things up recently, we are not as open as SC and GA (and things keep getting worse!) It is going to be interesting how a second wave is handled. I dont think the economy will shut down again but think social distancing will occur and that could impact what a wedding looks like (no dancing, masks, etc.). Something to consider.