Couples aren’t cancelling! Wedding officiants play an important role in helping couples get married under lockdown conditions.

A wedding industry survey of engaged couples across the country discovered that an overwhelming majority of couples are not cancelling their weddings, despite the obstacles and uncertainty generated by COVID-19 and the subsequent shutdowns. Instead, couples are switching to intimate elopements to comply with CDC recommendations and regulations, or postponing their wedding date.

 

The Knot Worldwide COVID-19 Impact Study asked more than 470 couples with wedding receptions scheduled between April and July 2020 how the virus was affecting their wedding plans. The responses showed that 96 percent of couples are not planning on canceling their weddings at this time. 

 

The biggest takeaway for wedding officiants is that many couples are still planning on legally getting married on their original dates, and instead rescheduling their receptions for a later date. 

 

“There is a fair share of couples who are going ahead with small legal ceremonies during this time,” the report said.

 

“They’re eager to have the larger celebration with friends and family [at a later date].”

 

Let's go ahead and move those chairs six feet apart (and get rid of most of them) for now...

 

For wedding officiants, this presents an opportunity to help couples create meaningful, safe experiences. More than 80 percent that responded to the survey said that they were ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ informed about CDC guidelines. As the person managing the ceremony, officiants have a responsibility to be familiar with these guidelines, and ensure that folks are complying.  

 

We recommend that you talk with couples about CDC guidelines, and work out a wedding ceremony that is in compliance with them.