Glo Weddings: Summer COVID Wedding Trends

by Jaclyn Youhana Garver

Color coordinated hand sanitizer. Black tie double-masking. Socially distanced ballroom dancing.

Each spring brings with it new wedding trends, and in 2021, those trends are all about the coronavirus. It’s a reality couples have to contend with, and some local brides shared how they’re assuring their guests feel safe and taken care of.

(And on the list above, we’re joking. Mostly … because those things actually do exist.)

A slimmed-down guest list

Lauren Tourkow and fiance

Lauren Tourkow is getting married in July in Michigan, and because the number of coronavirus cases spiked over the winter, Michigan changed its max capacity for venues. However, the resort where Tourkow is getting married gave the couple a free upgrade to the largest venue space, allowing them to invite up to 125.

“They settled on a 100-person guest list, which was 20 to 30 fewer than it would have been during a typical year,” Tourkow says.

While Ashely Hobbs didn’t necessarily trim the wedding’s guest list, the couple did consider the fact that Hobbs’s fiancé has a lot of family who live out of town. They’re inviting those family members but know many won’t be able to come, in part because Indiana’s regulations—which are often viewed as lax in comparison to many other states’—mean many see Indiana as a pandemic “danger zone,” Hobbs says.

Saying ‘I do’ on a livestream

Hobbs livestreamed her bridal shower, which served as a handy test-run for the main event. She used Facebook Live, and she enjoyed that virtual attendees were able to comment in real time. It was a simple process, and she’s hopeful it will work similarly for the wedding. She can set up the camera in a stationary spot, and someone can check on it periodically.

“Maybe the maid of honor?” she wonders.

If it wasn’t for the coronavirus, Tourkow figures the couple wouldn’t have considered livestreaming the wedding. However, since the couple has family across the country who doesn’t feel safe traveling, livestreaming is on the agenda, too.

Avoiding crowds

Ashely Hobbs and fiance

In an ideal scenario, Tourkow would feed her guests buffet-style. But to keep guests in their seats, minimize the number of hands touching the food and avoid a congested line, the guests will eat a plated dinner.

Hobbs worked with her local venue to decide that she would seat guests from the same household at the same table, and tables will be at least 6 feet apart

“I still want to make sure people are not on top of each other,” she says.

‘Leaving my mind open for anything’

Hobbs knows, even with all her planning, a pandemic means that a lot of decisions can change at the last minute. She hopes that’s not the case, but who knows?

“I’m leaving my mind open for anything,” she says. “I told my fiancé, ‘We already paid for it, and we’re going to stand in a big, open room (and get married) if no one else can go.’”

Checklists have saved the day for Tourkow, helping her feel organized during a time when rules and regulations can change daily.

“There is so much to work out in planning a wedding, even without COVID,” she says. “It just feels like one more consideration to take. Ultimately, we both are super stoked for our day and are very much going with the flow of it all.”