How would you feel about vaccinations being required for wedding attendance?

It's a very strong statement to require your guests to have their arm injected with a vaccine in order to attend your wedding. I think it depends on who's on your guest list and how willing people really want to go to your wedding. Personally, I am not taking the vaccine any time soon nor will I be forced to take it to attend somewhere (if I was not willing to take it in the first place).

Some people may not be allowed to have a vaccine due to their health state.

Oof. I don’t mean this in a mean way, but I want to answer your question. If I was invited to your wedding and that was a requirement, then I’d decline. I’m vaccinated (only because of my job, otherwise I would never have done it) and my hubby is not and will never get it. And I’m not going to go without him. If that’s what you want to do, just be prepared for lots of declines. And not because they aren’t vaccinated, it might because their partner isn’t. If you would allow one vaccinated person and the partner to get tested, then my husband would still say no way. Or he’d do it and be annoyed. Hmm. I think you might have some unhappy people.

You asked if there are aspects you haven't considered, so I will say this:

Some people can't get vaccinated. I have a history of anaphylactic reactions to vaccines - I had to be exempted from tetanus and hepatitis boosters (required in my state to go to school) due to reactions that almost killed me. While we can't say for sure I would have a reaction to the COVID vaccine, as it is so new and the opinions are mixed, my doctor has advised against it for now because we also can't say for sure that I won't. This may change as more information and other vaccines come available, but this is currently where I stand.

As such, if I were invited to a wedding that required the vaccine, I would immediately decline or rescind my RSVP with zero explanation. I would not be willing to risk a life-threatening reaction just to attend a wedding.

Additionally, as a matter of principle, I wouldn't hand over a doctor's note/exemption for the "honor" of being allowed to attend. You are asking me to attend your wedding. I am not going to beg you to allow me attend.

I understand your reasoning, with high-risk guests in attendance. But be aware that many guests will likely decline. If that's fine by you so that you can rest easy with those other high-risk guests in attendance, then so be it.

ETA: I am very much pro-vax. My husband is in line to get his, my mom is in line to get hers, and all of my friends either have gotten theirs or are in line to. And I believe everyone who can, should. If and when I get a solid green light, I will, too. But until then, I am in that minority when they say "herd immunity protects those who can't get it." So I unfortunately know the uncomfortable position this puts some people in.

View Quoted Comment Ok and thank you for your honesty are in some places I am a front line worker and at place of work. CDC said they will start making it mandatory. With the health field at first I was so so against it and was flat out until I developed A symptom mactic.And I love my job as a nurse so I did. And most of family are . But I think that i will just have them be tested 2 or 3 weeks before our wedding. I dont think that's bad.

....The vaccine doesn't poof away covid.

Our being a bride doesn't dictate our loved ones' medical decisions. If you're worried, you simply shouldn't be hosting a large event.

View Quoted Comment You can be pro-vaccine and still not be able to receive it.

I want to do this too. Getting married in mid October.

View Quoted Comment

100% this.

On our wedding page we link to the state guidelines (many are from out of state) and we are asking people to follow it. Right now it's that people need to be tested within 72 hours before arriving. We are also going to do a poll to see how many people are vaccinated, just to have an idea and share closer to the date, if that makes someone unvaccinated decided whether or not to apply. I would just suggest making the decision based on who you really want there.

View Quoted Comment

Very true. If any of our guests are unable to receive the vaccine for medical reasons then we'd certainly make an exception and allow a negative Covid test instead (if we decide implement this plan, that is--so much is up in the air and we have a lot to consider). My younger sister's university is requiring all students to get vaccinated in order to enroll + attend in the fall, and I'm sure there will be a clause in there about exceptions for medical reasons.

I don't feel like it is anyone's business to know if I get vaccinated or not. Being ask to be vaccinated or show proof of vaccination to attend a wedding is pretty ridiculous, in my opinion. If a guest is worried about contracting Covid, they shouldn't attend the wedding.

View Quoted Comment Do guests have to disclose their medical issue to you to get an exemption to attend?


I know this is the couple's event and the couple's day, but that logic can only extend so far. This website doesn't even like wedding dress codes, phone bowls, requests for cash gifts, or anything that steps on guests. I think asking someone to receive a medical procedure to attend is far, far over the line.

View Quoted Comment

Couldn't agree more with this! So much on here is 'overstepping' with your guests or bridal party, but requiring a vaccine, or any medical decision for that matter, is totally cool?

View Quoted Comment

I don't know, because we haven't decided if we're going to do something like this yet--we're thinking about it and weighing our options, since we've already postponed our wedding by a full year. If we did implement this plan, then the 'rule' would probably be Covid vaccine required, or negative Covid test if you have a medical issue prohibiting you from getting the vaccine (but no, we certainly wouldn't ask anyone to disclose what their individual medical issues are--if any guests say they have a medical issue and will need to get the negative Covid test instead, we obviously don't need to know what that issue is and wouldn't ask any questions). We still have 7 months until our wedding so plenty of time to figure out what we want to do. Might be this plan, might be nothing at all. But the way I see it, we wouldn't be asking people to have a medical procedure in order to attend our wedding, since the majority of our guests have already been vaccinated anyway

I honestly feel like that by November of this year, everyone who wants it will have gotten it (in the US, which is the only country I can speak for). So, that means you are left with the people who are not able to get it (very small population) and those who don't want to get it (unfortunately large population). Your requirement won't change the vaccination status for either of those groups, so you are likely setting yourself up for some damaged relationships. Only you can decide if that is worth it to you.

I would be really upset as I am not getting vaccinated for religious reasons and our friendship would severely suffer because of this. Getting the vaccine is a personal choice, and demanding someone get it to attend your wedding feels wrong.

We are asking our guests to be fully vaccinated. We are having a smaller wedding so we have been able to speak with most of our guests, and nearly all are on track to be vaccinated before our wedding. We have high risk VIPs, so protecting them is a priority to us; if vaccines did not exist we would not even consider having our wedding celebration this year. There are only a couple of people (family members we aren't close to) invited that are on the fence about vaccinations, and it would not upset us at all if they weren't there.

No one is obligated to go to our wedding, nor are we obligated to invite anyone. I feel like that is the case for most weddings. Don't want to get vaccinated? Don't come. It's very simple. You will know your guests best. We chose to have a small wedding, and its no surprise that the people we are closest to are people who tend to have similar values, and for us that includes a strong belief in science and feeling of social responsibility. Like us, nearly all of our guests are very pro-vaccine and signed up the moment they could. For many of our guests and our vendors, it is a positive thing that we are setting the expectation that everyone be vaccinated.

Its your wedding, you are hosting the event and spending money on ensuring all your guests have a safe enjoyable time, and if feels like a necessary precaution so you can celebrate safely in the way that you want, do it.

I do think it is really important to be transparent with guests about what safety precautions you are (or are not) taking so they can decide for themselves if they want to attend your event. Guests can only make an informed decision about whether they will enjoy themselves and feel safe doing so if they know what your plans and expectations are. We are hoping vaccines will allow us to ease up on strict social distancing and masking, so that we can actually hug and take photos with our guests, which may still be outside of the comfort zone of some people. So we are making it clear what we want our wedding to look like and not taking it personally if guests choose not to come. We'd rather have an event with 60% of our guests that is fun and safe vs have an event with every individual we invited but not have it feel like the celebration we desire.

I'm a week or so away from being fully vaccinated, but I can't see making this a requirement. I won't require people to have a tetanus shot even though my event is completely outside and they could step on something.

Most of my family won't get the covid vaccine, which upsets me more than I can even begin to explain, because I've done so much research and educated myself on the vaccine. If covid is still an active fear when I get married next year I'd rather postpone and get the wedding we want rather than compromise.

If having all of your guests vaccinated is the only way you're comfortable hosting a wedding right now, I would agree with the others that in that case you really shouldn't be hosting a wedding at all.

We have a vaccine requirement for our friend circle now that anyone over 16 can get one for free anywhere here (unless ofc we are aware they medically cannot get a vaccine) so this would be no problem for us. A rapid test that morning could also be acceptable.