September Wedding

Im the same date in CA and am feeling hopeful about my outdoor wedding. We did cut our guest list to 100 people.

What state are you getting married in?

We live in NC and things should be pretty normal by then, but who knows. Our wedding is in the Keys for October 10th and they just reopened to tourists this past Monday. I follow the State / County / CDC guidelines for my homestate and destination wedding weekly if not daily.

All you can do is listen, read and talk to your venue / vendors in your local area.

My bff has her wedding 9/19 and she feels like she's not entirely positive that things like masks wouldn't be required or that social distancing would just be completely gone by then

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I am in WA - just north of Seattle.

I have been looking for something to follow to give me updates, but I haven't found much. For outdoor weddings, the limit is 100 and everyone is required to wear a mask. But that may change in 3 months... or it may not. Our friends are cancelling attending our bachelor/bachelorette parties at the end of July - our wedding is only 4 weeks after. So it makes me worried a lot of people may not come.

Where do you find the info for your state/county about wedding stuff?

It depends on the state you are in. We live in Wisconsin, so most of the rules are up to the business or local government. We were given a list of rules yesterday. Ours includes venue capacity is capped at 50% max capacity. The buffet will be served, so guests will come to a line 6 feet apart from one another and the food will be put on their plates. Dessert will be served to the guests instead of everyone coming up to a dessert table. The dance floor will have markers with 6 feet apart guidelines, but the if guests choose to dance closer to one another they can. Tables will be spaced 6 feet apart if the couple chooses to do so. these were provided by my venue.

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Thank you for that! I just asked our venue to figure out how I could find these guidelines. That seems so difficult to do at a wedding... the whole point is to dance and celebrate!

I also wonder how these guidelines may change in the next 3 months... it's so hard to say.

Did you postpone your wedding?

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We travel to WA a lot. Most of the state is just entering PH2 - given that each phase is about 3 - 4 weeks; a September wedding will be right there on the cusp of almost "normal".

I think I wouldn't cancel, but would definitely have a back up plan to downsize. What does your venue say?

I google everything from state / county / city reopening plans. My FH and I travel a lot (before Covid, 3 out of 4 weekends a month). His son lives in IN, we live in NC, our wedding will be in FL, we have a 2nd home in Europe, etc. My FH's son lives with his ex-wife and I know the reopening phases / Covid plans better than she does (i.e. his son was excited to tell us he was still going to summer camp... I [accidentally] burst that bubble yesterday because I read early last week his summer camp canceled - posted all over social media and she was like, "I wonder why they didn't email me"). Anyway, the internet is a wonderful thing, you can find out just about anything. Just do a little extra searching, you'll find your answers.

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Nope I'm not postponing I can live with the guidelines they have set in place. I honestly don't think they are that bad. The buffet line is the only place they are requiring social distancing. While it might not be completely like how things were before COVID, I'm actually happy with the guidelines given. I don't think many will notice the difference to be honest anymore,

I had to pester my venue for about 2 weeks to get the guidelines. They are having their first wedding June 20th.

I'm getting married in Pennsylvania. I received our venues restrictions yesterday. The only one I'm not happy about it is they can't provide chairs during the ceremony for more than immediate family. They're not enforcing masks and they're not enforcing the no dancing suggestions by the CDC. My invite list is 150 which is under the rule of 250 people for PA. Good luck to everyone!

I am getting married in Woodinville on the same day as you!

Right now I am getting mixed signals from my wedding vendors. My venue coordinator told me that he is pretty comfortable that we will be in phase 4 by the time that September rolls around, but the longer that King County stays in Phase 1 the more nervous I get.

As far as restrictions go-- The only change so far that any of my vendors have said that we should do for sure is changing from a buffet to a plated meal. I guess a lot of places are encouraging separate plates instead of shared food. Also, they suggested moving the tables further apart than normal--which luckily we can do because our guest list is a lot smaller than the room we are hosting the reception in. I know that Grand Event Rentals (in Bothell) is offering 50% off of tables right now so that you can add more tables and space people further away from each other.

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Oh awesome! Our venue is in Bellingham, where we live

Exactly. My wedding vendor seems to be VERY confident that everything is going to be "okay" by then, but I just don't see how it can change so much. I know the phases will allow for more - but right now the restrictions are 100 guests, masks and social distancing (marks on dance floor, lines, tables, etc). I don't see how it can all just go away by then, but maybe!

I've heard that its possible. I know some local brides that are just waiting it out and planning to move forward with everything, but we have friends/family that I don't think will be comfortable attending (including 3/5 out of my husbands groomsmen!).

We are going back and forth with having a small intimate wedding and then doing a big party next year.. it's SO HARD to figure out what to do!

I'm in Maryland, we're entering Phase 2 today and we are stilled only allowed to be in groups of less than 10. My wedding is in August with about 200 guests. I am not hopeful at all.

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Are there any special guidelines for weddings? Our Phase 2 only allows 5 people outside your household, but for outdoor gatherings you're allowed up to 100 people (with masks and social distancing).

I'm so sorry It is so hard and frustrating.

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I feel like that's all we can really do at this point unfortunately.

I am really sorry about your groomsmen! That is such a tough spot to be. It is hard to know what the "right" thing is. No one wants a wedding with pandemic overtones. Hopefully we can get some concrete guidance soon about the direction things are headed. It is hard to know if it will even feel "worth it" to host a wedding if guests do not feel comfortable.

If I see anything reputable and informative I will send it your way.

I'm in southeastern PA, which is a huge hotspot. We moved into Yellow phase today, which still does not allow gatherings for more than 25 people. But our numbers are going down, and after reading some rumors from Facebook world of people I know (ie. "I heard the county commissioners say _____"), I am really hopeful that we will go Green soon! My venue is closed until the Green phase, but I'm really positive this will happen soon! My wedding is at the end of August.

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Hi! I graduated from WWU

I'm getting married on Bainbridge Island at a VRBO in 18 days. Luckily we had already planned on eloping, much less stress. I think it's a nice option to do something small now and a bigger celebration later. There are quite a few nice places in WA on VRBO and Airbnb that would be more affordable than a traditional venue too.

I'm in Tampa Florida for 9/5 as well. We got the go ahead for 50% capacity which will accomodate our guests and social distancing guidelines. Am sure we will have fewer out of town guests but excited to be able to get married and not have to postpone a second time

View Quoted Comment I'm in PA too. Are you in a Green county?

View Quoted Comment No currently we're in yellow (Monroe and luzerne) since 5/29 but the venue sent out guidelines for what a wedding would look like when we go to green and assuming we'll be green by 9/5.

View Quoted Comment Hi Rachael, curious what those restrictions look like for 9/5? Any dancing or mask restrictions?