COVID-19 has affected so many people in so many different ways over the past year. Some of the things that have been affected most are weddings and wedding planning. Many weddings had to be pushed to a later date due to the pandemic. There have also been changes when it comes to planning weddings because of COVID-19. I interviewed a bride who has had to deal with these changes when it came to planning her wedding.
Her Campus: When did you get engaged?
Emily Recchia: I got engaged in May 2020.
HC: When is your wedding?
ER: My wedding is supposed to be taking place on Friday, August 13th, 2021.
HC: Was your proposal different because of COVID-19?
ER: I’m actually not sure if my proposal was different because of COVID-19. My fiancé told me that he was planning on having a small housewarming party for his new house on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. He asked me to get there early to help him set up, and when I arrived, he popped the question, and our families were both waiting for us downstairs! We are both low-key people, so I would think that the proposal would be along those lines no matter the situation. We were lucky because the weather turned out to be nice that day, so everyone was able to celebrate with us in the backyard.
HC: How was shopping for a dress different than it would be if there was no pandemic?
ER: So, I made appointments with two different bridal stores, and they both had the rule of only allowing two guests to accompany the bride to her appointment. It seemed like that was the case with most of the stores I looked into. I would imagine that if there was no pandemic, a bride would be allowed to have more than two people at her appointment.
HC: Have you had problems finding wedding venues for your wedding? If so, what were these difficulties?
ER: I started looking for wedding venues pretty soon after I got engaged because I figured options would be limited due to other brides having to reschedule their weddings. I didn’t have too much of a problem finding a venue. I visited a couple places and wound up going with the first place I saw. I was hoping for a Friday in August or September, so I coordinated a date that worked for my band and the venue. Luckily, there was one Friday in August that worked for everyone! It probably helped that my fiancé and I were pretty flexible and weren’t set on an exact date.
HC: What other difficulties have you had planning your wedding during this time?
ER: The biggest difficulty that I have encountered has been figuring out how many people will be allowed at my wedding and what type of restrictions there are going to be. The rules seem to be constantly changing. It was tricky making the guest list because of not knowing what the guest limit will be in August. Also, something that matters a lot to me is everyone being allowed to dance and have a great time, and it has been difficult not knowing if that will be allowed.
This bride, like many other brides, has had to adapt to the changes in the wedding planning industry thanks to COVID-19. These adaptations, though small, have made wedding planning more difficult than it already is. At the moment, her wedding has not been postponed, and hopefully, it never is.