Wedding Day Precautions?

My mother and sister mentioned masks to me the other week, and honestly it made me really upset. I am wholeheartedly supporting wearing masks right now, and my fiancé and I both do so we’re in Virginia. We are also getting married in September, and the idea of the bridal party having to wear masks in my photos makes me so mad.


I guess I will wait to see closer to the day, since it’s something that we can change very easily with a little planning. We are probably going to change our buffet to a plated meal though

Our wedding is scheduled for October and while we currently don't know if Masks will be required, we have it budgeted into our Welcome Bags to add face masks if needed. Our wedding / reception is also scheduled to be outdoors so that may play into our favor.

That's a tough one. honestly i think i'd just let them. find a way to photoshop it out aha.

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Yeah... I'm with you there... I am like... I don't want masks in the wedding pictures... but that makes me feel like I'm being selfish...idk we will see!

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That's not a bad idea!

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Lolol, welp I'm gonna start learning now!

I asked my DW venue, and they said we are not required to wear masks.

Oh, and we are just a party of 6, and outdoor. In end of July 2020.

I'm getting married Saturday. None of the wedding party is wearing masks. Guests may wear them, if they choose to do so.
Our wedding is outside, so people are set up for social distancing.
The ones who were truly worried about the virus, will not be in attendance. I'm one of those people that is unafraid, that being said, I've done my part and took part in the stay at home orders. I've just always believed that whatever happens to me is up to the Lord, so I'm unafraid to go without a mask. I respect other people's opinions and fear, I just don't share it.Good luck with your decision.

For our minimony (10 guests), we let guests know we would not be wearing masks nor expecting anyone else to but that they were welcome to wear them if it made them more comfortable. It's important to keep in mind that masks are really to protect people around the mask-wearer from the mask-wearer's germs, not the mask-wearer from other people's germs. Chances are vulnerable populations are going to want to wear the masks more but what they really need is for other people to wear masks, so risk is actually based more on other's actions than one's own. If the couple isn't willing to wear masks at all, it's not exactly fair to expect anyone else to - essentially you are saying your desire to not have masks in your photos is more important that other people's safety from your germs.

I totally understand not wanting masks in photos or as part of your day. Our minimony really didn't feel like a celebration at all because we couldn't see facial expressions and didn't hug or even stand close to most of our guests, so the overall vibe was really weird. It did not feel like a wedding or celebration of us at all. At our redo wedding and reception next year if masks are still a regular thing we will likely postpone further. There is something really dissonant about seeing masked guests as a wedding celebration, and I'd rather wait longer at this point to be able to smile, laugh, hug, and dance freely then have a compromised version of our wedding day. We got married, the "wedding" and party can wait years if that's what needs to happen for them to truly feel like a celebration.

If you do end up having your wedding while the pandemic threat is still very real, I do think there are ways you can balance the needs of public health with the real benefit of not being masked throughout your entire wedding and in all of your wedding photos. Wearing gloves and a mask when cake cutting (standing and breathing over food intended to be served to other people) may make sense, but you don't necessarily need to wear masks when doing your vows or during your first dance with your intimate partner, for example. You can also have ample supplies of hand sanitizer guests can use before they eat, which is probably a better safety precaution than masks. I also feel like choices about mask use can be made depending on your environment and other factors - for example, if you are having a small, outdoor, open air wedding in a low-incidence area with all local guests, masks may not be as necessary as if you were having a larger affair in the private room of a restaurant in NYC, for example. In the end I feel like a lot of it depends on the guidelines of your state and venue, how prevalent Covid-19 is in your area, and the comfort level of your guests.

I don't think it's a "allow them" situation - you asked them to stand up with you for your day because they're your closest people, but you won't respect their fear/worries and desire to wear a mask? That seems a bit out of line to me. If they want to wear a mask, that's up to them. I think I'd compromise by buying cloth masks in coordinating colors for those who wanted them.

It's also going to be up to the venues. If your venue requires them, your opinion doesn't mean much because they can shut down your event, because their whole venue can be shut down if they aren't enforcing the state policies at least at a minimum.

I'm a firm yes on masks. Look at the weddings that made headlines for others getting sick. If you value everyone enough to invite them, then you should keep them (and those they love) safe. Being outside alone is not prevention or protection. It's not about Being afraid or God's will. If God wanted someone to die, he'd find another way instead, if Covid didn't make that happen. You can also consider that God allowed us to know that masks help prevent this and just as easily assume that God wants us to use them - or why would they work.


Either way, a wedding during a wedding means masks. You can always be 30ft from people and take couple photos without... So you have some mask free photos.

My wedding is also in September, but only my FH, myself, and our children will be present.

Kayla, what a great question. I too feel stumped and have thought about this for hours! How do we keep everyone safe and still achieve beautiful photos that says “beautiful wedding” and not “coronavirus”?? I bought hand sanitizers to place on an elegant tray with a flower for guests to take upon their arrival. Thinking of changing music /mood to smooth and romantic, in case dancing is not allowed. Plated dinner and spacing tables 6 ft. apart. Instead of the cookie and candy buffet, likely individual treats at their seats. I’m open to more ideas as I am wracking my brain for safe yet beautiful!! 🧼🌷🌺

View Quoted Comment I love these ideas. I'm sorry if I want helpful. It's a trigger for me because my mom is high risk. And I'd feel awful exposing her to any risk. I'd love ideas like this too. I just feel strongly about masks. I'm sorry to everyone.

My rural Wisconsin is going as planned for June 27th with 125 people. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I’ve supported safer at home and abided by guidelines all along, but when a bridesmaid mentioned that her husband will be wearing a mask to our wedding I started feeling upset about the whole situation. I hope people who are afraid, anxious, or vulnerable to health issues simply stay home. I feel very selfish, but I don’t want any photos with reminders of the Covid! And if one more person sends me a picture of a bridal mask I’m going to have a meltdown.

We postponed our big event to next year, but we're still getting married in August. There will be about 14 people. I'm in the process of making masks* for everyone so at least we'll all be coordinated in pictures. I think I'm going to make little boxes of covid stuff for each person with a mask, a bag to put the mask in while eating, a bottle of hand sanitizer, a marker to label the mask bag and any disposable things so no one uses anything that isn't theirs, and I don't know what else.
With such a small group, we'll probably just take group pictures the normal way only with masks; it's part of life right now and I want authentic pictures. If we hadn't postponed, I was going to ask the photographer to take pictures of everyone separately/in couples kind of red carpet style, and then I would've Photoshopped them together later.

*I'm in Massachusetts, where masks will be required until there's a widely available vaccine or treatment, so we don't really have a choice, but I don't want to accidentally kill my grandparents or my fiancé's parents, so we'd probably have masks even if they weren't required.

P.S. if you decide to go the Photoshop route, have the photos taken in front of a fairly plain background, or at least something that people won't blend into. Then if you use Photoshop, click on the "remove background" button at the bottom of the properties tab. If the background is obvious enough for Photoshop to find and remove it, you'll be able to copy and paste your friends into pre-social-distancing proximity easily!

If I were you I would wait until you get a little closer to the date to see if it will still be required. Also check with your venue to see what they require, which should be based on state regulations anyway. If it happens to be required by the time September rolls around, consider getting some special masks for you guys and the wedding party that compliments your attire. I just ordered some sparkle masks from Etsy for my cousin’s bridal shower in July. Hers is a diamond white and the bridal party’s are a sparkle gold. We have to wear them so we might as well be festive lol.

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I feel the exact same! I'm in TN in September and I feel honestly a little narcissistic about not wanting people to wear masks at the wedding. With everything so chaotic in the world right now I don't want to think about that every time I look at my wedding photos. I think if guests want to wear them that's not that big of a deal but my bridal party is just my sister and FBIL so I have no qualms in telling them not to wear masks. I'm just ready to be married and not have to stress about any of this anymore!