With Covid restrictions beginning to lift, you may feel tempted to throw all safety measures out the window. However, not everybody will be ready to ditch the masks and begin hugging for a while. There are a few really smart and thoughtful ways you can make your guests feel comfortable before and during your Big Day. From clear communication to a creative colour-coded band system, we’ve got you covered!
Related: See the Latest Covid Guidelines Here
Be OK with some guests not attending
Assure your guests that you won’t be offended if they don’t feel comfortable attending your wedding. And then provide them with an option to watch your wedding via live stream (more on this later). Simply add a line on your wedding website or in your email communication. Something like this: We would love to have you attend our wedding, but we understand if you don’t feel comfortable with large group gatherings yet. If this is you, we’d love for you to watch our livestream!
Don’t ignore Covid on your invitations
Sure, you don’t want Covid to dominate your day (it won’t!) but you can’t avoid it. Make your guests feel comfortable by acknowledging the situation. You could say something like this: It’s important for our guests’ safety that we ask you to comply with certain safety measures during the course of our wedding day…
Make your guests feel comfortable before the day
In your pre-wedding communication, give your guests the information they need in order to feel comfortable. Tell them the safety measures you’re putting in place and how you plan to look after them throughout the day. Let them know which parts of the day will be indoors and outdoors and if possible, share a basic timeline with them too.
Alan Roche Photography | BrookLodge and Macreddin Village
Allow guests to attend only parts of the day
Now that your guests have the timeline for the day, they may feel more comfortable attending only parts of your wedding. For example, if your ceremony is indoors, they may want to watch your live stream and then attend your outdoor reception. Be OK with this and allow guests to customise their attendance.
Talk to vulnerable or anxious guests individually
If you know somebody is feeling anxious about attending a large gathering, get in touch. This could be a phone call or a video call via Zoom. Whatever the method, use this as a chance to share your excitement and answer any questions your friends and family have.
Adopt alternative ceremony seating
There are plenty of ways to make your guests feel comfortable at your ceremony. You could try assigned ceremony seating (something as simple as printing off names and placing them on seats) or setting up socially distanced seating ‘bubbles’.
Ian Hennessey Photography | The Village Hotel
Livestream your wedding
We’ve already alluded to this, but it is a very obvious way for guests to join in if they aren’t comfortable attending in person.
Related: How to Livestream Your Wedding
Set up cozy outdoor spaces
There’s a reason government guidelines have been kinder to outdoor event attendees. Embrace this by creating cozy outdoor spaces for your wedding. We’re thinking comfy chairs, cozy blankets, heaters and fireplaces.
Be prepared to start earlier
An earlier start will give your guests plenty of time to enjoy the outdoor aspects of your Big Day. You’ll also get more time before the curfew (at the time of this post, Irish weddings have an 11:30pm curfew).
We are soulful – Tony Thompson | Markree Castle Hotel
Embrace individual items for guests
There are a few creative ways you can keep your wedding contactless! Speak with your wedding cake maker about creating smaller, individual cakes or cupcakes instead of one large cake (ask about a smaller cake just for cutting!). Consider tagging everybody’s glass, so they don’t get mixed up. And while we’re at it, have everybody raise their glass instead of clinking.
Provide the appropriate safety measures
While we’re at it, keep your Covid safety cute! We’re talking punny signs, individual hand sanitiser bottles and personalised face masks.
Related: How to Make Hand Sanitiser Look Cute For Your Wedding
Say hello to the colour-coded band system
Colour-coded wristbands give your guests a non-awkward way of telling one another how comfortable they feel. The colours represent different levels of social distancing and it’s pretty genius.
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