Maryland September Wedding

When does your venue let you make a final decision by?

i personally would postpone but i also think that is very dependent on what you're ok with and not ok with. what is a deal breaker to you? is having no dancing a deal breaker? is the possibility of people wearing masks a deal breaker? is the idea that you probably might need to socially distance from guests and not mingle with them a deal breaker?

if you're happy with just having people come and witness your union and that being it, then i think it's ok to continue. so just think about what you're ok with not having in making a final choice.

So much depends on the size and makeup of your guest list (and whether any VIP guests are at risk), the size of your venue, what the state’s restrictions will be (TBD), and what your venue is saying. You also need to be ok with more people deciding not to come than would otherwise. I’m September 5 in northern Virginia with fewer than 150 guests and we have no plans to postpone yet. Unless you have a huge guest list or specific guests you’re worried about, I would think it’s a bit early to postpone.

I currently live in Maryland and Governor Hogan is still limiting social gatherings to ten people or less. We just entered phase two today. Not sure how long we are going to be in phase two and I believe Governor Hogan is still allowing the mayors to decide if they want move to the next phase as some counties aren't reopening as much as others. Based on this information, I would highly consider postponing your wedding because we have no idea when social gatherings of more than ten people will be allowed. We also have no idea what restrictions will be in place once larger gatherings are allowed.

View Quoted Comment My guest list including bridal party is 80 and we’d expect someone not to come due to covid

I think it depends on where you are in MD. We're in MD, too, but right outside of DC, so our opening has been a lot slower. If you're in the DMV or Baltimore areas, you may want to consider postponing, but honestly the rest of the state seems like it would be fine for 80 people in Sept.

I've never posted here before but I'm chiming in because I'm also September 26 in Maryland and thought I'd offer my two cents, for whatever it's worth.

Long story short, we are waiting until after the 4th of July to make any decisions about postponing. I waver between being optimistic (i.e. some counties allow outdoor religious gatherings up to 250... isn't a wedding kind of a religious gathering? ;-)) and wanting to just throw in the towel and postpone. We have a Day-of-Coordinator, and she also advised waiting until invitation time to make any decisions (so that'd be like late July).

Our guest count is large (175ish) but we assume not everyone will attend (older relatives who have to travel, covid or not, who likely wouldn't have come anyway). Our "venue" is entirely outside though (relative's backyard), so we are glad that that may work in our favor. At the same time, I don't want to break any gathering rules or make people feel uncomfortable. I'm also okay with getting rid of the dance floor and renting out another tent to space out tables more.

My fiance is like yours and more optimistic. We've put planning on hold for now because we're mostly done with the big things anyway. In a month or so we'll either have a lot to do to get ready for September, or a lot to do to postpone. I hope it's the former.

What, if anything, has your venue said? Good luck; I truly hope for all of us it all works out!

Hi!


I live in Maryland and have a wedding in August. My wedding venue is not allowing me to cancel or postpone yet, they say it’s too early. Being in phase 2 with 10 people still is not promising. Hogan also said phase 2 will be longer. I don’t see our state allowing large gatherings for quite some time. I’m waiting to postpone my August wedding. I didn’t even order invitations because I’m lretty confident my wedding will not be happening this year.

Hey hey! I'm also in Maryland with a September 19th date...so we're extremely excited to hear that we've successfully moved into phase 2 as of today!!! We're starting to call guests now to see if they'd even feel comfortable coming out in September if it's allowed. If we get a good 75% then we'll keep pushing for 9/19 and decide July 1st...this will only be possible if I can get a soft hold with all my vendors for a backup date. We have 3 dates selected and at this point we've considered both a Friday and Sunday date.


So all those conversations are happening now and I feel pretty happy right now. I've been on a roller coaster of emotions but if we can get to phase 3 by July I think we may be in the clear 😬🙆🏾‍♀️ I know there's word of a second wave coming in the fall; I just hope it's late fall if it does come.

Our venue is suggesting we wait until mid July to make a decision. Our date is September 19

My fiancé and I live in Maryland and have a DC wedding on the same date. We were leaning towards downsizing our guest list to about 50 people and proceeding with the same date, but are now considering postponing until next year. There is just so much up in the air... Our venue has been extremely accommodating and is recommending to reschedule sooner rather than later since dates are filling up quickly. Sorry I can’t be more helpful, but just wanted you to know I’m in a similar boat and am feeling confused as well!

Hi!

We are getting married in my fiance's parent's backyard in Edgewater, MD. Our date is October 3rd and we are not postponing, but limiting the guest list to just family and wedding party. We went from sending out save the dates to 157 to now sending invitations to 65. He is from Maryland and I am from Utah and a lot of my guests were traveling and after talking to some they were thinking of not coming anyways to be more safe and comfortable. We are extremely happy with this decision and hopefully can celebrate with everyone for a 1st anniversary party next year.

After the Hogan spoke today, I still don't think it looks good for many venues. He still hasn't increased the limit on social gatherings at all, which is what will determine if weddings can happen.

View Quoted Comment Yeah we’re not in the big city are. We’re on The Eastern shore area. It’s so hard to judge because it’s always changing and it be different is it was 150+

Which is crazy because he’s now allowing restaurants to have 50% capacity

View Quoted Comment I think so far our max is 80 so I think if we limit it to 50 to 60 we should be fine

View Quoted Comment Trust me I understand completely the roller coaster of emotions but today with Hogan speech makes me feel a little bit better that there might still be hope for our weddings in September

View Quoted Comment Yes I can't believe it...I truly didn't see it coming! We just need to clear July for sure!

View Quoted Comment Yesss I know!!! I’d even be happy with first week of August. But I have a good feeling we should be good just might have to have under 100 guest list ☺️

View Quoted Comment There is no gathering limit in the newest order from what I see?

View Quoted Comment

This is key -- I pulled up today's order and compared it with the one from May 27. The text from May 27's reads:

"Gatherings Larger Than 10 Persons Prohibited.

Social, community, recreational,
leisure, and sporting gatherings and events of more than 10 people (“large gatherings
and events”) are hereby prohibited at all locations and venues, including but not
limited to parades, festivals, conventions, and fundraisers. Planned large gatherings
and events must be canceled or postponed until after termination of the state of
emergency and the proclamation of the catastrophic health emergency has been rescinded."

This blurb from today's order (June 10) has now changed to:

"Social Distancing.

a. It is strongly recommended that all Marylanders continue following the most
current guidance from CDC and MDH regarding social distancing, including, without limitation, avoidance of large gatherings and crowded places.

b. The Secretary of Health is hereby authorized to issue Secretary’s Directives
requiring individuals to remain indoors or to refrain from congregating, as the
Secretary deems necessary to monitor, treat, prevent, reduce the spread of, and
suppress COVID-19."

I am also frustrated that Hogan won't make clear the limits on large groups, but based on today's order it seems it has switched to a recommendation rather than a mandate. I am not a lawyer or an expert; I could very well be wrong. I am someone who really wants to have a large gathering in September and has been reading these orders closely!

I also know he recently said (I think a week or two ago) -- when asked specifically by a reporter about the 10-person gathering limit -- that is was technically still in place but nobody was following it. He mentioned it was probably being ignored in other states as well.

I am optimistic, to be honest. I wasn't a few weeks ago, but I am hopeful that things will have progressed well by September.