Coronavirus & Weddings: How to plan your wedding

belle
4 years ago
- Blog

Happy news first! People are still falling and love and getting engaged and then married, so weddings are not ‘cancelled’ in 2021. In saying that, Coronavirus has changed the landscape of how brides plan and prepare for their weddings. This article is here to assist brides how to plan for their big day amidst the new environment.

VICTORIA GOVERNMENT – what are the saying Updated on 2 March 2021, at 12:30 AET -No more than 1 person per 2 square metres can attend an indoor or outdoor wedding at a venue — but only with electronic record keeping. The 4-square-metres rule applies if there’s paper-based record keeping. -Up to 50 people can be on a dance floor, if there’s no more than 1 person per 4 square metres. -Weddings held at a private residence are limited to the members of the household and up to 30 visitors. Babies under 12 months aren’t included in this cap. The celebrant and a photographer are also not included in this limit. Each state has different restrictions so please look up your individual state for the latest updates.

WEDDING INSURANCE

This topic has been tricky for a lot of brides who were impacted by the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns and many have been left out of pocket or are still trying to get deposits back from venues. What is the actual law or due process with regards to cancellations due to lockdowns or a Coronavirus related illness; most insurance policies now cover you in the event of one of two actions;

The venue closes (temporality or permanently)
You or a close family member is ill

It is best to read the fine print or give your insurance policy a call and go over any queries and concerns you have, many insurance policies have different policies and claim processes in place and you don’t want to be out of pocket!

WEDDING DRESSES

Here at Belle et Blanc we continued to work throughout the pandemic last year in 2020 and now in 2021. Even though Melbourne suffered through one of the worlds toughest and longest lockdown our staff were still available and in touch with our brides and worked with each bride to make sure her gown was ready for her big day. We understand what enormous stress our brides were going through and wanted to ensure their gowns were ready on time. If you are currently planning a wedding for 2021 and are uncertain if you should start gown shopping, our advice is, yes definitely! You can purchase a gown off-the-rack at Belle et Blanc and take it with you today or alternatively if you have more time you can order one of our beautiful gowns from the current range which takes 6-8 months to produce.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR WEDDING IS POSTPONED

If you know that you’re postponing your wedding date, the first step is to let the designer or the boutique from which you purchased your dress know. Here at Belle et Blanc if we were informed by our bride that her wedding had been postponed, we worked with her new wedding date accordingly and adjusted her fitting dates to work around her new date.

WHAT TO TELL MY WEDDING GUESTS

By now, many people are very understanding of the situation and how our lives can change in an instant, so your guests will understand if your wedding day has been postponed and will want to support you in any way. Communication is key here and it’s best to stay in touch with your guests and keep them updated with any new changes or updates. Also, if your guests decline your invitation and feel uncomfortable with attending understand that it’s nothing personal and they are simply prioritising the health and safety of their family.

HOW TO STAY SAFE AT A WEDDING

All guests must adhere to the current Government regulations which we mentioned at the beginning of the blog. Many brides have set up sanitation stations for their guests, changed buffets to sit down dinners and kept a safe distance to guests and kept kissing and hugging greetings to an absolute minimum – we know it’s a hard one!

SHOULD I CONTINUE TO PLAN MY WEDDING

Yes, absolutely! Love has not been cancelled, even though this is the new normal for all of us, many of our brides are still happily planning their weddings, albeit some have changed their initial plans and maybe the destination wedding is out of the question for now, love is all the matters and saying ‘I DO’ in 2021 and beyond is as important as it ever has been!