So I was married in a minimony last fall. I wanted things to be done after that, but my family begged me to have a celebration this year (lots and lots of tears). The problem is that I don't want to be a public health official and I feel like hosting an event requires me to be one.
Here's what I mean: last year, before we decided to scale back to just parents and grandparents, guest after guest was calling to ask me whether mask wearing would be enforced or give me a lengthy explanation of why they felt unsafe (up to an hour long on the phone) or demanding that I require negative tests for attendance or that I uninvite anyone who would be flying. It took so much joy out of the months leading up to the event that it is the reason I ultimately uninvited everyone and scaled way down. Also, I had a very small outdoor shower on a huge lawn in a friend's back yard, and some guests demanded I chastise other guests for not wearing masks even though they were 20+ feet away sitting with their household only.
Now don't get me wrong, I think everyone has a right to feel safe and to set their own personal boundaries. If someone didn't come, I would never be offended. But I have no interest in fielding call after call about my event and being placed as a public health official at my event, I just dont. I don't want to come off as rude, but I would rather call off the party than go through that again. It sucked the joy out of everything.
Is this unavoidable if you're having a wedding during covid, or is there a way that I can communicate that there will be people traveling/I won't be requiring testing or vaccines/etc and those who feel unsafe shouldn't attend and need not feel guilty or feel the need to explain themselves?