Family traveling from overseas for 2022 wedding (concerns and venting)...

I'm pessimistic. I'm planning an outdoor wedding with only 3 guests.

Our 3 guests refuse to dine indoors unless it's their home and they do not want others over.

My wedding is in July 2022 and I'm also mildly concerned (especially since our venue will not allow us to postpone again without losing our deposit), though it's a long ways off and there's no way of knowing what will happen. However, I am confident that things will at least be way more improved by then. They may or may not be 100% better, but I'm hopeful that things will be improved enough to where weddings and other larger events will be able to occur as planned. Don't focus on what the restrictions are at this moment, but instead pick a date closer to your wedding day that you will start to focus more closely on restrictions at. Things will change between now and then, and the restrictions in even a year from now will likely be different from the restrictions in place today. Thinking positive thoughts for 2022!!

View Quoted Comment Thank you, Lisa! I am trying to do that as well. What timeframe are you giving yourself in terms of looking at the restrictions, etc. as it gets closer to your date? I’m thinking by maybe a year out we may have an idea of where things are headed? I’m not sure. I am just so bummed and it’s hard not to stress. 😞

View Quoted Comment My fiance and I have to go through with our wedding in 2022 (else we lose our deposit this time), so we decided that around 4-6 months out from our new date, we'll start paying attention to what the restrictions are at that time and coming up with ideas of what we can do to make our wedding as safe as possible based on where things are then. 2-3 months out is when we will start implementing those ideas based on the restrictions in place - whether it's cutting back the guest list, providing masks and/or hand sanitizer, modifying seating arrangements, etc. I don't want to focus on restrictions too early, because things are almost guaranteed to change many times before then, and there's no point in me stressing myself out right now.


I completely agree with you, I think that in a year from now, we'll see where things are headed. Things likely won't be completely improved within a year from now, but we'll at least be able to see if things are on the right track. I remain hopeful for 2022! I know it's tough to be excited about wedding planning with COVID threatening to force changes, but what gives me additional hope is reading all the posts on these forums of people who still had their weddings in 2020 (either downsizing guest list or moving venues or whatever they needed to do to meet restrictions), and hearing about how they absolutely loved their day and that their new plan ended up being even better than the original plan. So even if we're all forced to make some changes in 2022, I feel that everything happens for a reason, the days will still be beautiful, and everything will work out for the best.

I'm a July 2022 bride, and also a little concerned about international travel. I'm from the US and getting married in Chicago, but my fiancé and I live in Spain (where he's from). Our postponement plans will be completely dependent upon international travel restrictions, because if the groom isn't allowed to travel to the US, there won't be a wedding, haha. Assuming the borders between the US and Europe open up again by then, we'll move forward with the wedding even if we have to limit numbers (although it seems to me that if indoor capacity is still limited, international travel will probably also still be limited). I guess we'll probably start considering postponement if things haven't improved within about six months of the wedding. We'll have quite a lot of people traveling from Spain, and we're having a second celebration in his hometown after the wedding with some guests traveling from the States, so I'd rather make the call to postpone before we have tons of guests booking expensive international travel.

A few things are keeping me hopeful, though. The vaccine news is super promising and, if approved, sounds like it'll be widely distributed starting in 2021 (correct me if I'm wrong). We purposefully decided to wait til 2022 instead of crossing our fingers and hoping 2021 works out so we could leave time for the virus situation to be worked out. And since it's our first booking, we'd still be able to postpone if things are still looking bad come 2022. It would be crappy to postpone, but knowing it's an option is comforting.

View Quoted Comment Thank you for this!!! I’m glad you have the same concerns that I do regarding international travel. I also heard that the vaccine could get the green light to be distributed fairly quickly if things go right, so far, so good.
I reached out to one of my family members overseas to get their input on what they think could happen for the UK between now and then so I’ll be curious to see what they say. I know that the UK currently has a shut down in place until the 2nd.
I am also hoping that things improve drastically between now and 2022, so we’ll see! I hate that we have to basically rely on the outcome of 2021 to see what 2022 will hold, but the news of the vaccine has given me a glimmer of hope. It all comes down to how quickly things can be distributed and take effect. I think we still have a fair chance with our weddings, a fingers crossed!

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I agree, I'm pretty pessimistic as well. I downsized my wedding and even postponed it. I planned to have the ceremony outside with outdoor dining options as well.

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Wow, that's amazing! I sure hope that the borders will be open so that your day will come through!

View Quoted Comment Yes! Thats the way to go these days untilprobably 6 months to a year after a vaccine is available.

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Gosh, it's crazy to think that in March/April it will be a year since this virus came here in the US! I hope everyone has been staying happy and healthy!

Anything right now is speculation, I'd recommend trying not to focus on something so far away that you have no control over. You'll drive yourself crazy.

We’re getting married in October 2021. My fiancé’s sister lives in Ireland. She has another wedding before ours, and the concern is that she won’t be able to get back into her country.
We’ve talked about it, and we are going to get married either way. It would be awful if she couldn’t come, though!

View Quoted Comment I am keeping everything crossed for our international families! I talked to my aunt in the UK today and she said she doesn’t anticipate there still being any major issues heading into late 2021, so I think there’s a good chance that your fiancé’s sister will be able to come and go with no issues!