12 Tips for Getting Married in the Time of COVID

We all know weddings can be stressful. So many moving parts to arrange – venue, florist, photographer, caterer, DJ, invitation, officiant. And so many people to manage - parents, future in-laws, siblings, children, friends. This year COVID-19 threw a monkey wrench into the entire industry and created havoc. Weddings were cancelled or postponed to avoid becoming super spreader events. Anita Peters, Humanist Celebrant and sole proprietor of Mark This Day With Love in Wilton, sees no reason though to postpone getting married. She advises couples to simply, “Relinquish the idea of the wedding you planned… or imagined and embrace the fun and spontaneity of a COVID-Era Pop-Up wedding.” A Pop-Up wedding is a small simple ceremony organized for the couple alone or with a few family members and friends. A reception is optional: Cake is not!

Follow these 12 tips for the Perfect COVID-Era Pop-Up Wedding:

1. Postpone/Relinquish the idea of the wedding you planned (at least for 2020 and maybe half of 2021). This will free you both to discover the fun and spontaneity for a Pop-Up Wedding.

2. Schedule the reception/wedding party to a date in 2021/22. (Optional: Inform family and friends that you will be getting legally married now and holding a reception later).

3. Choose a location, preferably outdoors that

...has a special meaning for you both – e.g. where you jog, play tennis, walk a dog, hike, kiss.

...is romantic or beautiful – e.g. a gazebo in town, a park, a tree, a bridge, the beach.

4. Choose Props – Will you have a bouquet of flowers, a corsage? Perhaps a hat, a token, a heart outlined in chalk where you will stand, an umbrella (stand under my umbrella), maybe even Wonder Woman’s whip.

5. Wear a special outfit – e.g. a wedding dress, a tuxedo, matching outfits, a super hero costume.

6. Decorate face masks for yourselves and anyone who will be present.

7. Purchase or bake cupcakes vs. a cake which needs to be sliced.

8. Invite 1-6 family members or friends to stand or be seated socially distanced apart and assign one to take photos.

9. Hire an officiant to perform a simple ceremony. Optional: Contract your officiant to collaborate on a more elaborate ceremony as Master of Ceremonies at a future reception.

10. Fill out the marriage license and give to Officiant.

11. Toast each other with the beverage of your choice.

12. Feed each other a cupcake.

Are you planning a wedding? Anita Peters, a Humanist Celebrant and owner of Mark This Day With Love, creates personal and personalized ceremonies and celebrations for all of life’s milestones. Mark This Day With Love also collaborates with individuals and families who are looking to create lasting memories with meaningful secular rituals, new traditions, bespoke celebrations for special days.