How Have Fall 2021 Weddings Been Going With Delta?

My friend just got married sep 17 in Maryland. She just got pregnant before the wedding (first trimester) and was very scared. She required proof of a negative test and proof of vaccination. She asked people ahead of time to wear masks but literally no one did, including them. It felt like a regular wedding reception pre-covid (hugging, dancing, etc). Have not heard of anyone getting sick post-wedding.

For the few weddings I’ve been at there hasn’t been much in terms of social distancing and the ones that provide masks, sanitizer, etc, it only goes so far. Usually by the cocktail hour & reception everyone has stopped wearing masks because they can’t while eating & drinking and it seems folks either forget or just don’t care or want to.

I attended a wedding a month ago. It was supposed to be outdoor but was moved indoor due to weather. That definitely changed my comfort level as it was 100 people in an enclosed space which is not something I have done since Covid. One or two people had masks on. We kept our distance (like… stood in a corner observing from a 10+ ft distance), stayed for dinner and left on the early side. Had it been outdoor as planned OR had any sort of windows or doors open indoor I would have felt more comfortable. It also was not what we were expecting/agreed to but I think they should have had better/safer contingency plans in place. Open air if possible at all helps a lot.

We attended a wedding 2 weekends ago in Chicago with about 150 guests. The venue enforced vaccine/negative test requirements. No one wore a mask or social distanced, but I did notice a lot of hand sanitizer usage. Overall it just felt like a normal, pre-covid wedding!

My Wedding was on the 18th (about 2 weeks ago. Covid affected our Wedding negatively for sure. Two weekends before our Wedding 6 friends went on a camping trip together and one friend had what she thought were “allergies”. It was Covid. They all got it including 2 of out these friends who were supposed to marry us. This couple’s friend who were to marry us is also a business partner of my husband’s, they ride together to get materials needed for their projects and sometimes work in the same spaces inside houses (they are contractors). We realized when his business partner (and best friend who were to marry us) tested positive that my husband became a direct contact and I had to call all of our vendors and let them know we might have to call off the Wedding….4 days before our Wedding! We found out just 2days before our Wedding that my husband was negative. It was a very stressful situation because not only were we freaked out but it seemed like a few of our Vendors were too and some wanted details and discussions and were acting like they didn’t want to do our event, namely the director of our Wedding venue. I also found myself having to console friends who had to cancel due to Covid and on top of that trying to make a new date that all of my Vendors could accommodate just in case, all this just days before the Wedding. Luckily we were able to secure a JP, but with the ceremony being so intimate with our best friends marrying us we decided to change our ceremony details at the last minute as well. The day turned out beautiful but we were shooting at the hip during the ceremony because of last minute confusion issues with the JP which lead to some very disjointed parts but we were laughing through it. All in all with cancellations due to guests having Covid, and a last minute cancellation due to another couples friend becoming a close contact and two other cancellations at the last minute due to reasons of not wanting to get Covid (word had spread by this time), we were down 14 guests all together. Needless to say we brought leftover food home just out of sheer upset that we had to pay for it all, which never ended up getting consumed unfortunately. So yes, lots of Covid drama to our Wedding story but in the end we were so thankful that at least we ourselves were able to show up to our own Wedding in the end!

Got married September 3rd near Baltimore, MD with about 100 guests and haven't heard of anyone getting sick! Felt like a pretty normal pre-COVID wedding except for some face masks and plethora of hand sanitizer. Vaccinations or negative tests weren't required but we knew most guests were vaccinated anyway, which helped us feel better about going through with the whole thing. We invited around 160 guests but only one couple told us COVID was the reason they couldn't attend (they have a toddler and didn't want to risk passing anything to her - totally fair and no hard feelings were had!) - the rest were either too old and/or too far away to travel in for it anyway. I hope this helps!

We got married September 23rd, outdoor ceremony and reception with about 40 guests. We provided masks and hand sanitizer (no one used them lol) and asked that people get tested a few days prior but didn’t police it. We had an absolute blast and haven’t heard of anyone getting sick yet.

We had 120 guests September 16th with NO cases!

We got married August 27th and had less than 70 guests. Overall, there was a small percentage of guests who wore masks during most of the reception but the majority did not. We did not require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test because almost everyone in attendance had been vaccinated. My then fiancé and I were still nervous because we were leaving on our honeymoon two days after our wedding. Jamaica required a negative COVID test prior to arrival, and the USA also required a negative COVID test as well. All went well, and we both tested negative. Also, we weren’t in our guests faces for more than a few minutes giving hugs and thanking them for coming to our wedding. It felt like a normal wedding, with the exception that we decided to keep out guest list as small as possible due to COVID and knowing it made a lot of family members and friends nervous.

Hi! We got married last August 20 in an intimate outdoor ceremony (at a country club). We chose an outdoor ceremony so people can get comfortable and there is less risk of contamination. Also, we only had 20 people, very close friends and family, so we can fully interact with all guests (all adults are fully vaccinated so we feel safer even if there are 3 kids). We were very careful with the specifics and we wanted everyone to be comfortable and able to interact with each other just like pre-covid times. Goodluck with your planning and all the best to you and your fiancé!

We got married last weekend in NYC. Our venue required proof of vaccination but there weren't any other requirements. We had hand sanitizers on every table. We had about half the people the room could accommodate so people were spread out a bit. Quite a few people didn't come because of COVID. So far I haven't heard of anyone being sick 🤞🙏 Good luck.

We had our NYC wedding mid-August, 2 days before the change. My drop in guest count actually helped it be more comfortable. I sat 6-8 guests at a standard 90" round that would normally sit a tight 10. And while I would have loved a raucous on the dancefloor before, I think my guests were also glad for a larger dance space with room to twirl. I kept a bar on each side of the reception ballroom and for cocktails had 4 cocktail stations and butler-passed hor'douevres to limit clusters (and lines!). I think people are still conscious of distancing while they eat. New Yorkers are Covid conscious on the sidewalk. Our band was vaccinated per industry rules and kept in their invisible band space (no actual stage). In the past, they were more interactive. That's ok, Delta made it a different era. Some of my guests wore masks during the ceremony, but eventually they left them off by cocktails.


People will still hug you and hug each other as a regular wedding. You can still have a fun wedding. I'd just recommend providing side space should persons want to step away for a breather. Best wishes, City Bride!

I live in the Chicago area, but I'm from New Jersey and got married at an indoor venue on September 12th in South Brunswick, NJ. My wedding was planned remotely and I had to handle a lot of extras including flying in a few days in advance. We invited 120 guests, and there wound up being 88 people at the wedding. We had put it out there to our guests that we'd prefer either vaccinations or negative covid tests, but didn't reinforce it as we already knew most of the guests were. A few days before the wedding, one of my husband's best friends told us he had tested positive the week before, but would be testing throughout the week to see if he could make it. I also had a friend that had contact with someone that tested positive and had been quarantining out of precaution, which I appreciated. She tested negative a number of times, so she was good to go by the end of her self-imposed quarantine. I had to email the wedding planner a number of times before the wedding to change the guest count/table settings/let him know the change in food choices, but he let me know that it happens ALL the time, especially now, and was extremely accommodating. I'm sure if we held the wedding before Covid, more people would've attended, but it was the best day/night ever. The venue had sanitizer stations, and anyone who felt particularly uncomfortable were welcome to wear masks, but for the most part, everything went normally. Now, almost 3 weeks later, we haven't gotten word of anyone coming down with any symptoms. Don't stress, have the best day ever, and congratulations!!!

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I am so thankful for all of this helpful intel--thank you all so much for your feedback!!

I am so thankful for all of this helpful intel--thank you all so much for your feedback!!

I had a wedding July 30th (indoor and outdoor) with 160 people. No one wore a mask and not one person tested positive. I must be one of the lucky ones. I did have four people drop out because they tested positive before the wedding.

We had ours outside - 75 ppl and required vaccines + negative test in last 72 hours and bought binax tests for all guests to take when they arrived. It was great, everyone felt comfortable and nobody got sick. i sent an email
Telling everyone about the precautions and asking everyone to please be cautious leading up to the wedding and that in light of all of the precautions, we would not be requiring masks but if someone wanted to be seated further away from the group
Or would be more comfortable in a mask, to please let us know / wear one. It seemed toWork well, everyone appreciated that we took the extra steps and once we got there felt very much like a pre-Covid wedding.