Wedding Planning during Covid-19: Creative Options

Ever since mid-March, 2020, our world has been stuck in an unprecedented state of unknown. It has been uplifting to see the support for healthcare workers around the globe, and encouraging to see that above all else, the health and the safety of friends and family is the world’s top priority. But that doesn’t mean these last few weeks haven’t been extremely difficult. With summer approaching, this is typically the time engaged couples kick things into high gear before their wedding. This year, unfortunately, virtually all wedding plans needed to be cancelled or postponed due to Covid-19, yet no one knows when it will be safe enough to pick up where we left off.

When faced with something as severe as a pandemic, couples planning for a spring or summer 2020 wedding have had to make alternative arrangements. There seem to be two choices:

1. Host an intimate wedding with just the members of your household or immediate family
2. Push your wedding plans back indefinitely, until it is safe to host large gatherings again

Both of these options come with disappointment and drawbacks. You ultimately have to sacrifice on the vision and dream you’ve been planning for months, if not years, or you have to relinquish control, cancel and potentially lose all deposits, and cross your fingers that things will work out for a later date.

Despite feeling like life may be on hold, there have been several determined couples that decided to get married in the midst of this chaos, proving that love truly does conquer all.

For those couples feeling lost or disappointed during this time, hopefully you find inspiration and hope from these courageous couples. Remember, no matter what happens or what goes wrong, your wedding will always be a beautiful day to remember for the rest of your life. It doesn’t have to be “perfect” to be special.

Drive-in Wedding

A couple in Texas had their wedding planned for April 10th. Well, the date came and went and the couple were scrambling to find an alternative. Then, the couple managed to find a drive-in movie theatre that would host their nuptials. It was a far cry from their original plan, which was organized down to the very last detail, but one major advantage of a drive-in wedding was that everyone could remain safely at a distance, while still witnessing the wedding.

Photo by Greg Fulks

In the end, the couple were able to invite more guests than they’d originally planned, and the parking lot was filled to capacity with 90 cars and around 150 guests watching the pair exchange vows. Ultimately, the couple said that their impromptu wedding with popcorn, soda and corn dogs was even better than the one they’d first planned.

Intimate Weddings

Another couple from San Francisco got married in a small ceremony in a friend’s backyard, equipped with face masks and following all social distancing measures. They originally hoped that family and friends would be able to travel for their wedding, but with travel restrictions, the couple decided to get married anyway with an audience of just ten people.

image via instagram @cesarsalza

A third couple decided to get married in their New York City apartment with two friends and a coworker, who officiated the ceremony.

image via twitter @themitchcase

image via twitter @themitchcase

They got their marriage license before things closed up due to corona virus (though now the system has moved online) and exchanged their vows in their living room in front of a home sweet home sign. Later guests passed by on the street and shared signs and shouted their congratulations up to the newlyweds.

If you choose to push back or change your wedding plans during this time, know that no matter what you choose, as long as you keep the health and safety of those you care about in mind, it’ll be the right decision.