How COVID-19 Will Change The Future Of Weddings | Predictions

One of my favorite podcasts to listen to is called Young House Love Has A Podcast. I’ve listened to John & Sheri’s podcast for several years now & it’s one of the few subscriptions I have that I listen to every single episode that comes out. It’s just fun & cheery & has absolutely nothing to do with photography or business – so I love it.

John & Sheri’s podcast centers primarily around home renovations & DIY projects – and a few episodes back, they were talking about how COVID-19 could potentially change the way we build & remodel our homes in the future. They cited how past pandemics & modern science together have played a role in different design aspects of our homes (and what we consider to be “normal”) – and that got me thinking:

How will COVID-19 change the future of wedding celebrations?

This pandemic has without a doubt changed our world. We will never go back to the “normal” we were used to experiencing before. Sure, as time goes on & stipulations fall away, we’ll revert back to some semblance of “normal”, but I feel like, life as we once knew it has completely changed. And especially for my generation – we will now compartmentalize our lives as “pre-pandemic” and “post-pandemic”.

The wedding industry is definitely facing a huge amount of change right now. There are so many new rules & regulations – not all of which have been made especially clear – leaving many wedding venues & vendors to carefully attempt to navigate these muddy waters.

No matter if the current CDC recommendations become law or not, weddings as we knew them in 2019 and previous years are gone & I think we’ll be seeing more & more of the following changes to wedding day celebrations.
*Obviously, these are just my own personal opinions. I am not an expert, but I have been in the wedding industry for over 10 years. I’ve seen trends come & go and these are simply my observations of the wedding industry as we move forward out of a pandemic state & back to “normal”.

Micro Weddings Will Become More Popular

A “Micro Wedding” is defined as a ceremony and/or reception with less than 50 guests in attendance. With all of the restrictions on venue capacities & the emphasis on social distancing – cutting a guest list down to just immediate family & best friends will likely become more & more popular. The days of inviting “acquaintances” to wedding celebrations are over. Guest lists which were once plump with second-cousins & parent’s co-workers, will now be trimmed back to just immediate family & only the closest friends of the bride & groom.

There are a lot of benefits to having a Micro Wedding! Stay tuned next week as I highlight why Micro Weddings might be the best outcome from this pandemic!

More Weddings Held On Private Property

Wedding venues & church’s hands are tied in many regards right now. Their capacities have been chopped & the way they operate (down to the nitty-gritty) has been drastically changed. Venues risk getting fined or potentially losing their business licenses if they go against the current recommendations & regulations. It’s a challenging time for everyone.

However, brides & grooms have been envisioning & planning their wedding days for years and for some, the idea of not being able to have certain “traditions” (i.e. open dancing, certain food being served, a full guest list, etc.) is completely unimaginable. So, many will take matters into their own hands & move their wedding celebrations from venues to private property. There – they can take any negative repercussions upon themselves & still carry out the wedding they were once dreaming of (just in a slightly different setting).

I think couples are going to get very creative with these new wedding locations – they will begin to seek out-of-the-ordinary, previously unattainable places & get married in completely untraditional locations.

Zoom-ing Weddings

Brides & grooms are realizing that even though they may be forging ahead with their wedding plans, they may have guests on their guest list that are simply not comfortable attending a wedding (even if it is just a Micro Wedding). Based on their own health & pre-existing conditions, guests will have to make the tough call to either attend a wedding or maybe not.

I think this will cause a lot of couples to live-stream or Zoom their wedding ceremonies & receptions. That way, their guests who do not feel comfortable coming out, can still feel like they were a part of the day & celebration.

Couples Will Seek Additional “Pandemic” Language In Their Vendor Contracts

This whole pandemic-thing has caught us all off-guard – brides & grooms & vendors. While legit wedding vendors have lawyer approved contracts – no one had “pandemic” language written into their fine print (you know, a line that says, “In the event of a pandemic, this will happen.”) But all of that has changed & everyone is now adding new clauses, specifically related to “pandemics” to their contracts.

As a bride & groom getting married in 2020 & moving forward – you need to be reading your contracts carefully & seeking clarification as to what would happen if we would see a “second-wave” of this pandemic or (God-forbid) another pandemic. What happens if you need to reschedule your wedding? Will there be a rescheduling fee? What happens if your wedding gets canceled? Will money be returned? Just like last year, when everyone was asking about Copyrights, going forward, everyone will be asking about pandemics.

The End Of The Pittsburgh Cookie Table?

If you aren’t from south-western Pennsylvania, you’ll probably wondering: “What is a Pittsburgh Cookie Table?” It’s a tradition that anyone outside of this area simply does not understand, but trust me: it’s a tradition that everyone from this area expects to take part in at a wedding. I mean, seriously, wedding cake is delicious & all, but what could be better than a table overflowing with thousands of cookies?

Unfortunately, current regulations do not allow a traditional Pittsburgh Cookie Table to happen. It has been suggested that instead, cookies are boxed up & given to each guest individually to partake of & take home. In other words, no more overflowing table, with guests freely snacking off of it all night long.

The Pittsburgh Cookie Table might make a brief “disappearance” from the wedding scene, but I truly don’t think it will ever go away completely. In south-western Pennsylvania, this is a tradition we all love way too much & I truly believe it will be back!

Well, those are some of my predictions about how COVID-19 will change the wedding industry. What do you think? Did I miss something? Or do you think that weddings will go back to “normal” & this pandemic won’t change anything? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!