Eloping or non-traditonal Covid-19 Ceremony?

Instead of postponing the wedding we'd planned, we're just going to go to the courthouse when it re-opens. We'll both dress up in our wedding clothes, and I'll have my hair and makeup done. Then we're going to go to a park and take pictures. Neither FH or I feel like re-planning the whole wedding.

After things have calmed down and re-opened, later this year or in 2021, we're going to host a celebration of our marriage for our local guests. It'll be smaller scale than the reception we were planning, but I think everyone's going to be so happy to be past the coronavirus that they'll all enjoy it

The state parks would be nice, especially if you're planning to have a photographer there

We had to push back our event by a full year, but our venue offered to let us use their outdoor ceremony site to still get married on our original date, so I think we are going to do that. Just us, our friends who are officiating, hopefully our parents, and a photographer. My salon will be open by then so I plan to get my hair done (but will have to do my makeup and nails myself) and will wear my dress. My mom is going bring flowers from her garden so that she can make a bouquet for me, and she will help me with my dress so that my FH doesn't see it beforehand. Our venue is close to where we live so I'm thinking my mom and I will drive separately from my FH so we can do a "first look" there with our photographer, then go to the ceremony site, do our vows, take some more photos, sign our papers and that's probably it. It will be simple and short, but we'll be married!

The only part I'm not crazy about is that my mom lives a few states away so will be driving in and staying with us. She's been doing a good job of social distancing, so I'm not worried about safety, but because hotels are shut down she needs to stay with us in our small, one bathroom home and crash on the couch. I'd really love to come home with my man, have some champagne, dance in our living room, and have a romantic night together on our first night as husband and wife, but having my mom around is going to be a huge buzzkill . I think it would mean a lot to me to have my mom there with me to get ready and at the ceremony itself, but I wish we could put her somewhere else afterward (or have us go somewhere else) so we could have some privacy.

Hi Alexis,

Many couples are considering the option of hosting two events--similar to what you've suggested. There are several ongoing discussions on the subject of ceremony now/reception later OR elopement now/full wedding later. Check out these posts:

Covid-19: Marriage now, wedding later?

Covid19 Brides still getting married on original date?

Small ceremony now, big wedding later

Etiquette in the time of coronavirus?

I'm Eloping because of Covid-19.. can i still do all of the traditional events?

If you want to consider your options and next steps, WeddingWire has created a ton of resources here: Our COVID-19 Weddings Advice Guide. I'm wishing you the best of luck with whatever you decide!

Hi Kari, have you looked into Airbnbs? We're also doing a small ceremony where we live (in Texas), and my parents found an Airbnb in our neighborhood.

There is an emergency order in our state that prohibits all short term rentals from providing accommodations, including AirBnBs and privately owned vacation rentals, except for very specific circumstances that an elopement doesn't qualify for. However I'm still seeing local listings on AirBnB for those dates so I just don't know. It's possible that the operators are verifying people booking through AirBnB or are just risking breaking the law. It's unclear to me where the liability lies (if we booked an AirBnB for my mom who would get in trouble, us or just the people managing the property?) but either way if someone is flouting the law I'd then be concerned they just aren't being responsible and that might mean they aren't cleaning and sanitizing their rental properly which would be a huge concern.

Campgrounds are exempt from the ruling but can only provide accommodations to in state residents or pre-existing members, so we could go camping on our wedding night while my mom stays in our house, but that isn't exactly the romantic first night as a married couple that I was hoping for either. We're trying to figure out if any friends know local people with unoccupied in-law suites or some other suitable accommodation, because providing housing for guests or friends is not prohibited, but I'd feel really uncomfortable asking someone to let my mom stay in their home unless they had a private set-up with a separate entrance and no shared spaces.

That makes total sense and I don't blame you! Good luck with the lodging situation!