Should I postpone my wedding? The COVID conundrum.....

It’s the question that every couple is asking right now… should I postpone my wedding, and if so, how long should I wait?

This question is not easily answered, unfortunately, and I’m not going to tell you what to do (this is something you will need to decide for yourself), but here’s what we know so far about the situation in Ireland, and my own personal thoughts (which you are of course free to ignore!).

(sources: https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0424/1134671-covid-irish-toll/. and https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus)

As of yesterday (Friday 24th April, 2020), over 1000 people have died in this country, and over 18,000 people have tested positive for the virus. As the test is not yet widely available to the bulk of the population, it is likely that the number of people actually infected is a multiple of this number. Until an antibody test is made available, we may never know how many people were actually infected.

The current lockdown will stay in place until May 5th, when a decision to either extend it or gradually reduce it will be taken. Regardless, all mass events involving groups of 5,000 or more have been banned until the end of August, which means that all major summer festivals and sporting events have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely.

All hotels, bars, restaurants are still closed, and no decision has yet been made as to when these will re-open. This is obviously going to affect the vast majority of couples; knowing when the venues can actually open again will help massively in making a decision about whether to postpone or not. But even if the venues do re-open, it is highly likely that physical distancing (a more accurate description - we’re not socially distancing!) in some form will be in place until at least the new year, or until a vaccine or effective cure becomes widely available.

What does that mean for you? If you were planning to get married this summer; it would be prudent to examine your options now, and start thinking about a plan b. That doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get married this summer; it might just mean that you change how you do it. Weddings with large groups of 100 or more are probably not a great idea in the short-medium term, and it’s possible they may be temporarily discouraged. Small, intimate gatherings might be a realistic option for now once the lockdown is lifted, or you may even consider eloping, and having your party next year when everyone is well and healthy, and it’s safe for your granny to come along. If there is anyone important to you who is elderly, frail, or has an underlying condition. or you have friends or family abroad who you would really like to have there (travel restrictions may be in place for quite a while), then you really need to consider postponing the big celebration.

The big question is, if I do postpone, how far out should I move it? My gut instinct is that until a vaccine and/or effective cure becomes widely available, as I mentioned already, then physical distancing will probably remain in place, and the last thing you want to be doing at your wedding is not hugging/kissing/shaking hands with your friends and family, while possibly wearing a mask (not a good wedding look). So realistically, you should be thinking about 2021 if you want to have the big do.

Whatever you do, talk to your vendors. Talk to your venue, your photographer, your band, your celebrant, your cake-maker, your hair and make-up people, and talk to me, or whoever your florist happens to be. Keep us in the loop, and if you do decide on a plan b, let us know in plenty of time so we can check our diaries that we’re available for the new date. Remember that every other 2020 couple is doing the exact same thing, and we’re also getting a lot of queries from 2021 couples as well, so our diaries are filling up faster than normal. As my 2020 couples, you get priority treatment if you have to postpone, but only if the date hasn’t already been taken. If this is the case, I will try to find you someone else, but the key thing is to make this decision soon, and once it’s done, you can forget about it, and concentrate on keeping yourself and your loved ones safe.

All of us wedding vendors want you to remember your big day for all the right reasons. Just think about it. We’ll be here for you every step of the way.

For more information on the coronavirus, visit https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus/

Oh. And please don’t drink/inject/inhale disinfectant - only silly people with orange faces do that.