It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for! The day we can finally do the things we used to do again! But what does that all mean for your wedding day?

Here’s what you need to know:

• There are no limits on the number of guests you can have at your wedding events
• Social distancing is a personal choice (see note below)
• Face coverings are no longer legally required
• You no longer need to have table service for food and drinks anymore – that’s right, standing drinks receptions are back!
• You can have DANCING! So, say hello to your Sangeet and Mehndi parties!

This is all great news and essentially enables everyone to have the wedding they want and for many people, the wedding they’ve been planning pre-pandemic. Some people may want to move swiftly into post Covid living while others will continue to remain cautious and that’s okay. So you may now be thinking, “how can we have a COVID safe wedding post restrictions”?

There are a few things that you can do to continue to mitigate the risk of spreading the virus:

1. Ask guests to take a COVID test 

According to the gov.uk website, 1 in 3 people with COVID-19 don’t have symptoms. Asking your guests to take a lateral flow test could give everyone that little bit of added assurance.

This is definitely not for everyone as it’s potentially a big ask, especially if your guestlist is a big one. But if you’re ok to ask the question, it may be worth considering. 

Lateral flow tests are free and can be collected from a local pharmacy or ordered online. You can test at home and have your results in 30 minutes of taking the test. 

Now let’s be honest, the LFT is not a pleasant experience and it can make you gag. If that’s you, then here’s a video that really helped me:

Hopefully it goes without saying that should any of your guests test positive, they must self isolate immediately and should not attend your events. So, yes there is this!

2. Let guests know in advance what safety precautions you have in place

Some guests really feel the peer pressure to attend weddings…even if they don’t feel comfortable to attend. So why not let them know the measures you’ll have in place to protect your guests. Speak to your venue and suppliers as well to see if they will still be taking any precautions.

Some easy safety measures are:

• Letting guests know it’s ok to wear a mask if they would prefer
• If your venue has the space to do so, spread your tables and chairs out a little
• Wherever possible, ventilate – keep windows and doors open
• Have hand sanitisers available, especially in places where multiple people will touch the same items (e.g. a guest book)

Noting that many venues and suppliers may still have some measures in place to mitigate the spread of the virus.

3. Consider a Table Plan… even for a Ceremony Lunch

You may have been planning to have free seating, so anyone can sit anywhere. You could consider seating people in groups that you know everyone will be comfortable with (e.g. family groups or close friends). 

It doesn’t mean people can’t mingle but at the least, they’ll be sitting with people they’re comfortable being in close proximity to.

If you’re having smaller guest numbers, this could even be time to go for Escort Cards! They are also a dream for managing late changes to your guest list – which you can’t really do with a Table Plan.

This is an alternative to a table plan. The guest’s name goes on the front and their table number on the back. We recently used escort cards for an Asian wedding. A card for each guest was laid out to give them on arrival. We even added their photo group number on the back to help us coordinate people a little quicker after the ceremony.

4. Social Distancing Wristbands

This is something we’ve recently seen and it looks like a great idea if you have a group of guests who are very mixed about “COVID safety”. Now it’s quite different and may have some festival vibes to it but here we go.

Essentially you buy three different coloured wristbands that mean something like:

• Red – I’m socially distancing…back it up folks!
• Amber – I’m a little cautious but happy to elbow bump
• Green – Bring it in! I’m happy to hug!

It’s a really simple idea, but could work really well.

And finally…

…Please accept that some people may still not feel safe attending large events

For various reasons there will be people who are very cautious and those who aren’t – don’t judge them, it’s their personal choice. 

Some people may even have a health condition that could be hugely detrimental if they contracted COVID. Others may live with people in this position. And others still may just not be comfortable being near people yet. It doesn’t matter why, just accept it without judgement. Yes, you would have loved them to come to your wedding but I’m sure you’d rather all of your family and friends felt comfortable right?!

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Ultimately:

• Have fun 
• Consider your guests comfort levels 
• Tag @theasianweddingclub in your photos when you’re done! 

And if you’re up for it, we’d love to see your wedding in The Blog. Once you have your professional photos back, just click here to submit your wedding.

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We hope this post helps and let us know if you think of any other tips and feel free to share this with others if it’s helped you. 🙂