Wow, what an announcement! As of March 10th, Texas will remove all Covid restrictions and guidelines, giving all businesses the opportunity to open 100%. Texas is also removing the mask mandate. What a change after a year!
So now what? What does that mean for your event? Well, let’s explore that, shall we?
Photo courtesy of Ben Q. Photography
Decide How You Feel
Before you do anything, this is a good time to check in with each other on how you feel this should affect your wedding day. Do you want to keep Covid restrictions? Do you want to relax some but keep others? Do you want to throw everything out and just be “normal”? How do you think your guests will feel? This is a lot to take in and we suggest checking in with each other as well as your family to see what, if anything, you want to change. Need a refresher on what your options are when it comes to pre-cautions? You can check out our health and safety checklist here.
Photos courtesy of Hannah Ruth Photography
Talk to Your Team
Governor Abbott was very clear in his message that businesses should set their own rules. We can guarantee your team is thinking about this right now and figuring out what rules they want to keep, what they will throw out, and what they want to modify. If you have time, give them a minute to figure this out. They may contact you immediately and they may need the week to do some internal planning. We recommend getting in touch at some point though so you can discuss with them how they are handling this. For example, will your venue stick to their 75% numbers or will they allow for 100% capacity? Will your caterer now pass appetizers or will they stick with everything being served to prevent food contagion? Calling your team and finding out their plans, as well as expressing your own, is the communication is needed to make sure everyone is on the same page.
We never want surprises on the wedding day (unless it’s something we planned!), so getting on the same page after a huge announcement like this is crucial. You need to know what to expect and they need to know your expectations. (We are in the midst of doing this for our planning clients so we can see what of their plans will be affected and work through it with them.)
Photos courtesy of Catie Ann Photography
Communicate with Your Guests
We are all about communication, not just with your team, but with your guests! After getting on the same page with your venue and vendors, it’s time to let your guests know what to expect on the wedding day. Communicating with guests during Covid has been crucial in helping them decide if they feel comfortable attending and that doesn’t stop now. As we have continued to recommend, you should update your wedding website and email your guests to let them know if you expect them to wear a mask, social distance, dance, etc. We have found this so helpful, and we have seen guest counts increase when the guests were fully informed about any and all Covid pre-cautions in place for the wedding day.
We know it is stressful for couples as state and local regulations change. Keeping up with the rules has seemed to be a full-time job on its own over this past year! As always, we are here to help, so please don’t hesitate to reach out if we can be of service to you!
Wendy Kidd, Owner & Certified Master Wedding Planner