We are in Philly suburbs. Daughter of a close friend moved her wedding from this Friday 6/25 to July 18. Our county moves to “green” phase (phase 3) this week-end and so the wedding is on. Over 100 people, ceremony and cocktail hour outside if weather permits, dinner and dancing “inside” which is a huge permanent tent coming off the manor house; the house opens up into the tent so there is lots of space as I understand. The sides of the tent will be DOWN during dinner for A/C and bug control. TBD if they lift them after dinner is served (so folks can wander back out onto the grounds of the property.) Capacity to seat 1000 so they meet the 30% occupancy rule for inside seating. MOB says they are still planning to do round tables of 10 guests and dancing is permitted. We are told there will be lots of high and low tops to spread out at during cocktail hour. Hubby and I will go to ceremony and cocktail hour but have given our regrets for the dinner/dancing part of the reception (with MOB’s blessing.) The bride’s shower was last week-end and while it was mostly outside (except dessert table) there was ZERO social distancing (lots of hugging) and no one wearing masks. I imagine the same for the wedding, with 4X the number of people and lots more drinking. Everyone else in our friend group is attending the entire affair and looking forward to the party.
Our son’s wedding date was 10/10/2020. They decided last week to cancel the big wedding (130 people), move the date up, and have only immediate family and wedding party - new date is 8/15 in North Carolina. Basically the same wedding they were planning but with 30 instead of 130. They are relieved to be moving forward rather than stuck in the uncertainty. They are both front line EMS personnel so fingers crossed they stay healthy. Haven’t seen them since Christmas so we are very excited and will accept the risk of being with them for their special day/week-end!
My daughter and her fiancé had already decided to move their wedding to 2021 before COVID hit. Now that everyone’s wedding has moved, it will be interesting to see if there will be any place available when the time comes.
D quit her job in April and is planning to go back to school. They say that if push comes to shove, they will marry with a small ceremony and be done with it. Her dress is in one of our spare closets & it needs minimal alterations, so a wedding with short notice is definitely doable.
Our daughter was to be married this past Saturday, the 20th, in Barcelona. She and her fiancé live in Copenhagen. So I was really dreading the day…until my husband came up with a brilliant idea! We dressed in our parent of the bride clothes, had a full length portrait taken, which we captioned “ ready for the big event”, then a picture of us looking to the left, then right, then at each other shrugging, which were captioned “where did everybody go”. We ended with a picture of us both using dancing hands, and then me crying in hubby’s shoulder. We said, “Boo hoo, maybe some other time.”
I should have prefaced this by saying this was totally out of character for us.
We texted it to her at 9 PM Friday night, so we were sure she was asleep. She found it when she awakened and texted us immediately. She laughed and said we were hysterical. Again, having our children describe us as hysterical has never happened before. ?
It was a win, and made the day fun for us. Although my husband needs to learn to give me more than 24 hours notice for this.? I had to do my nails, find shoes, dye my roots, and style my hair. I was out of practice. ?
Just found out today that their marriage license will be valid until September 2021, so crossing our fingers we will be able to attend.
We got a very detailed letter today about the August wedding we have south of Denver. Most everything will be happening outdoors, which is good. Venue can accommodate about 400 and they are anticipating 100. The bride and groom understand that things could change in CO before mid-August, and actually created a Covid Update tab on their wedding website.
We will be keeping a very close eye on the trends there now that indoor bars and the like are open. Hoping CO doesn’t end up on the same slippery slope as Az abs FL…and not just because if this wedding.
Were still Nov but D1 is increasingly nervous and I feel sad for her. Part is probably that her best friend moved out of country, to be with her fiance, and FSIL is working from home, the weather is getting hotter. She’s furloughed but worries if they do hire her back, her commissions won’t build back up for a long time. Then she says when will they ever buy a house, etc.
I’d be happy for her to get her dress altered and just go with her photographer and officiant (and a minimal handful of us) to a beautiful waterside setting. As said above, a blowout party another time.
Two weeks ago, her friend’s stripped down wedding was beautiful. 15-20 family. On Zoom, so we watched it. They were so happy.
If I sound wistful, I am. Wedding plans are just a fraction of the limitations we face right now. I need encouraging words…about the world.
My heart goes out to you, @lookingforward , as well as to others having to give up wedding plans or still in the uncertain part of not knowing what to do. I would feel wistful, too. It is hard to have this going on when we know there are bigger problems in the world…but special family milestones are important too. And the uncertainty is just so hard.
My daughter/fiance are about to pull the plug on their New Orleans destination wedding scheduled for early November. Some deposits will likely be lost, but the uncertainty and the stress is not worth it. People will still be anxious about traveling. They will probably still get married around that time- but locally here in TN with family and a few close friends. The big question is whether to reschedule the “party” for 2021 and when would it even be? This is her 2nd wedding so she’s mainly OK with not having the big deal in November, but her fiance was really looking forward to celebrating with his family and friends. They are mature and flexible, so we’ll all adjust as we need to.
@MomofWildChild - I feel for you. We are currently rescheduling DS/DIL’s party for a year from now, but we don’t really know if that will be able to happen. We’re hoping to make a weekend of it with my youngest’s rescheduled bar mitzvah. (DS/DIL did get married, in reduced context, in March.)
I just want to encourage everyone, be kind to yourself. Sounds like many are struggling with uncertainty. Today’s plans are enough. Something better is on the way. May you have peace this evening. May you all get some good news this week.
By end of day tomorrow, I need to make the call whether to drive 14 hours to meet FDIL and her mom and aunt to go wedding-dress shopping. I have a direct flight but don’t feel like I can risk it. The aunt takes care of FDIL’s grandparents, and if I were to catch something on the plane/at the airport and pass it on, I’d never forgive myself. So, that leaves me with a drive, if I go at all. I would do the first four hours Tuesday and spend the night with my mom, who I haven’t seen in three months, and then wake up early and drive the rest of the way. The mom and aunt are driving 1,000 miles, too, but from a different direction. We are making a girls’ weekend of it, and it would be great fun. I love ds’s future MIL and have never met the aunt so was looking forward to that. This is a want, not a need, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime want. sigh
@“Youdon’tsay” I’ve made a long drive like yours before. Lots of podcasts or a book on tape helps.
The biggest thing is the will to get there. If you really want to get there, then it can be done.
I think that since you can have a stop to see your mom, I would do that and see her.
Get out every couple of hours to walk around. In the old days, I would stop at an outdoor mall and just take a short walk around. Once I stopped at ikea. Not possible now unfortunately but I really needed to get there so I powered through and went.
I am in the process of crossing my fingers and hoping that our plans for a backyard wedding the weekend of August 8th will work. Regardless of whether we are in phase 4 when up to 50 people are allowed, my S and FDIL have decided that their limit is 20, plus the rabbi and a photographer. I appreciate their willingness to keep it limited to immediate family and their best friends. I also know that even that is a risk but we have the space to socially distance in the yard. We will be serving a plated dinner, but I’m planning on separate tables for each family group, making sure that those who are uncomfortable sitting across from someone not in their “pod” can be made more comfortable. We may have one masked, gloved server or I may have the plated food placed on a table where individuals can get their food themselves. So any more things to think about in these times.
My friend’s S is scheduled to get married in October in Key West. I am really hoping they postpone that sooner rather than later - pandemic aside, it’s hurricane season. I know, though, what it feels like to watch your kids have to deal with the disappointment of postponing, rescheduling, or changing the approach to these very important life events which should be nothing but times of joy and happiness. The world is “still” upside down.
My daughter and FSIL have postponed their August wedding until next June. I am starting to wonder if they can experience the wedding they have been dreaming of next June or if this COVID crisis will just continue indefinitely. Meanwhile, they have planned a nice trip for the week they were supposed to be on their honeymoon. We have a bridal gown, bridesmaids dresses, MOB dress, dresses for the bridal shower and etc. all hanging in the closet with tags on, patiently waiting for the big day. The good news is that so far no relatives have gotten sick and I do hope that continues.
Good luck to all of you with your plans. The planning and replanning and worrying and wondering has been hard. The postponement definitely took the pressure off for now. Who knows what the future holds!!
@“Youdon’tsay” If you decide not to make the trip would they be able to let you participate through facetime or emailing you photos of dresses she is trying on? It isn’t perfect but it may be an option.
Son and fiancee have not even picked a tentative date yet. Just too much uncertainty. FDIL did have an appointment last week to try on wedding dresses (she won a contest and has to pick the dress by mid August). She was only allowed to bring one person with her and took a good friend of hers( who she had helped pick out her wedding dress previously). Enjoy the wedding dress shopping @Youdon’tsay if you decide to go!
For now, I’ve decided not to go – but I have SW tix so I have until Wednesday morning to change my mind! lol
Yeah, the plan always was to FaceTime, because the salon has tight restrictions (one bride at a time and one guest, which, naturally, would be her mom). So if I went it’s not like I would be in the salon anyway, but it was going to be a fun bonding weekend.
No. I just hung up with the mom. Even if the aunt bails, the mom is committed even if it’s just her and the bride.
Turns out the salon will allow her to go to some larger lobby to show up to three dresses to up to three people, so I would get to see her in the dress. UGH. I want to go.
If she is only allowed to show 3 dresses, there is a good chance she may not find the one she wants on the first try ( or may feel she has to pick one because people have traveled so far to be there). Do you see yourself wanting to or being able to make another trip if she doesn’t pick a dress this time? There is lots to consider with all the usual wedding decisions in the middle of a pandemic. Not an easy time to be engaged and trying to make plans. Good luck with the decision!