July 25th weddings - postpone or stay the course?

Mine is the 23rd of July. However, it’d be a destination wedding with party of 6. So, it’s private. No cancelation so far.

I think Virginia may likely be okay by end of July so I think you should keep your date for now and hope for the best! We live in Northern Virginia and our cases aren't too bad. I'm hoping by June life will get a little bit back to normal...
We moved from April to September but are getting married in Florida.

We're on July 18th (live in WA, getting married in OR) and currently still planning to go ahead (smaller wedding, only about 80 guests). We're just aware that with closures and delays, some of the guests may choose not to attend, and our groomsmen/bridesmaids may or may not get their outfits in time. We'll just be happy if we're able to get most of what we wanted without delaying.

If we DO end up having, or deciding, to postpone the formal ceremony, then we still intend to get married on our original date with a very reduced group of just some local family and friends (or just witnesses and officiant if necessary), and then have a "re-do" of a formal ceremony and reception with the full she-bang we've paid for. We'd likely aim for next July, of possible - maybe even 2 years out if we had to.

We are scheduled for July 25th too. I'm feeling less and less confident about our ability to have the wedding on that date, and the venue isn't entertaining discussions yet on a Plan B until they know more and deal with the earlier brides. They are confident, I am not. Our state just put out a three phase re-opening plan and gatherings of 50 or more without social distancing is Phase 3 and we are not even in Phase 1 yet. Apparently that cannot begin until our stay at home order ends on May 26th. I originally thought we could begin working on the phases ASAP but apparently we have to wait. I just don't see how we will get to unrestricted gatherings in 3 months in my state. If I could do a Plan B right now I would be heartbroken but I would do it. I don't think anyone knows how the next few months are going to look - it is the NOT KNOWING that makes it so hard to make the best decision. Good luck to you!

We are getting married July 9th in Hawai'i and haven't made any decisions yet. My Fiancé is from there, but my family would be traveling to the island. It would be about 100 people. But hopefully everything can stay on track.

We are supposed to be getting married on July 25th as well, already moved it once from 5/24. We are in Texas. Our guest count currently is about 80 people, but I discussed with my fiancee and the vendor today about the possibility of reducing it to 50 total if we need to. I don't want to have to move the reception back a year. Who knows what can happen in a year? I'm thinking in 3 months in Texas we may be able to do a gathering of 50 people or less, and that's what we'll do if it's possible. OR, we'll keep the original number if things look better. Probably have to decide in 3 weeks or so in order to get invites made. Such a tough time all around .

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I agree, it's so difficult thinking about waiting a whole year! And bringing the guest count down seems like a great option to avoid that. Best wishes, would love to hear your decision in a few weeks and how it works out!

Hi Elizabeth,

I don't have any specific knowledge about VA, but I'm sorry that you have to think about postponing your wedding a second time. It's a tough situation for spring/summer couples, and I think you're right to start considering your options.

Have you checked with your venue? Are they making any recommendations? You mentioned that you've already rescheduled once. If you decide to move it again, are they offering any 2021 date? Only July Saturdays? Or is it unclear?

Obviously, you are NOT alone. Here's a couple of discussions with July brides that may be helpful to you as you weigh the decision to postpone (again):

July 2020 Weddings

July Wedding

I'm hoping you can make a decision that feels right for you!

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Thank you so much! Those forums were very helpful to me. Sadly, it seems like most are postponing versus holding out. I have spoken to my venue, they wont hold a back-up date. I am not sure how to make my case to them to hold a back-up date. Their response to me is if I want a back-up date, I should release the July date for another wedding. They are in the mindset that July weddings will be doable.

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It's possible that July weddings will be doable. Still, I'm sorry that your venue won't work with you on a back-up plan. (I do understand that they're having their own challenges with so many March/April weddings already being rescheduled.) It sounds like it's a waiting game unless you're 100% set on postponing. As a next step, maybe you could investigate the phases of reopening / restarting events that Jaime mentioned in a PP. Those timelines may differ between states, of course, but you could make an educated guess about VA based on your total guest count. It's all waiting or guessing right now, and that's super difficult because no one really knows.