Wedding & Event Q&A Coronavirus

Today I wanted to help you  navigate your wedding or event with the Corona Virus outbreak. I have been asked in the last 3 days about many questions, emotions of having to reschedule and so forth, so I thought I would write a blog to help others as well during their planning and event process.

The Coronavirus a outbreak we are learning more about on a daily basis with some solutions and precautions to take. So taking our cues from the CDC and the Administration team there are measures we can take to still have a memorable beautiful day on your scheduled date or on a new date.

Q: So How do we handle this situation with the coronavirus ? Our guests, family and friends are calling us about our wedding or special event. What do we say or do?

Today I want to share with you some tips and suggestions if you are hosting an event or are an invited guest to an event. 

Q: Should I cancel or postpone my wedding or event?

A: In keeping with Governor Newsom’s State of California- March 11, 2020 policy announcement to slow the statewide spread of COVID-19, all  non-essential gatherings of 250 people or more will be postponed until April 1, 2020 or later.

So if your guest count is 250 guests or less you may make a decision to move forward with having your wedding or special event as long as the venue is still available. If your guest count is 250 or more than there needs to be decisions to be made to move forward with a postponement/reschedule

If the need to cancel arises because you're eloping to another country or most of your guests are traveling then this is a case by case event. IfI may suggest to not cancel but to postpone/reschedule. If you need to cancel/postpone reach out to your wedding planner first before speaking with your vendors and venue. They have more experience in navigating postponements and transferring monies to the new dates with revised contracts.

Please read your contracts as the vendor/venue cancellation clauses are very specific- you need to be aware of. Postponing/rescheduling is the recommendation I would suggest to a new date.

Q: Is my venue allowing our wedding or event to proceed?

A:Call your venue and make sure they are still honoring your contract and not closing. This is a case by case basis as some universities and venues have closed because of their main business in holding or hosting large events or gatherings of over 250.

Q: Should we ask the venue if they are going to take extra measures :clean and sanitize before our guests enter into the venue?

A: Typically most venues do clean before entrance of guests, but for a peace of mind give them a call and ask them what are the cleaning methods in place during this time.

Q: What precautions are the vendors going to take to protect our guests?

A: Reach out to your vendors and express your concerns for precautions i.e. if a caterer/ servers are they wearing gloves? How are they managing extra precautions to keep themselves and our guests safe?

“So below are some answers for your guests as well  as  steps that are purely statewide precautionary actions,” 

Talking points to share with your guests:

• Please advise your guests to Stay home when/if sick for their safety and the safety of others .
• Please be aware of travel advisory in your state or country.
  
• If you are immune deficit, have underlying illness please consider not traveling or exposing yourself to the virus. 
• Keep your guests up to date with your wedding or event, via a wedding event website or email blasts. Informed guests will cease the many phone calls & texts.

For the event itself : To help calm fears and offer an environment of peace of mind & on a daily basis in your home or place of business

• Make sure to offer hand sanitizer
• Tissues boxes
• Post signs { there are great ways to word it to make it more pleasing than posting an order } at your event that remind your guests to wash their hands and cover their mouths when coughing and sneezing.See below for some CDC suggestions
• Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Cover your mouth and nose with your sleeve or a tissue when coughing and/or sneezing.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick (Social Distancing: keep 6 feet of personal space from someone who is coughing or sneezing).
• Frequently wash hands for 20 seconds or more with soap and warm water.

If you have any questions or need help with a way to tackle a situation we have not touched on please reach out to us and we will do our best to help you.
We wish you All the best in Planning and Good Health! CC's

Disclaimer:

I started writing this blog 3 days ago and as we know the virus is evolving so please research the CDC to stay up to date with your local and government proclamations and instructions. Stay in contact with your wedding/event planner and vendors/venue. These are suggestions in this blog and in no way a confirmation to proceed with your event.