COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The pandemic has put a pause on many events and that includes weddings as well. A lot of couples waiting to tie the knot during these spring and summer months have either postponed their special day or decided to go virtual with family and friends attending online.
One Aggie has decided to go forth with her planned celebrations this summer.
Alena Horvath’s wedding is planned for August 1st 2020. The outbreak of the virus has slowed down the planning, but there are no talks of postponing her wedding day just yet.
“We definitely have waited longer to send out invitations because we weren’t sure if it was going to be okay. We’re actually going to finally send them out now because it’s starting to get better and we’re still going for it. The biggest fear I guess is some people might not be able to come because of it. I think the biggest thing for me is my grandpa because he is older. I’ve always wanted him obviously there, but should he even come?" said Horvath.
Luckily in Alena’s case, not much has changed from her wedding plans. Her venue and vendors are still open and proceeding as normal.
“It definitely has been more stressful because we didn’t know if people were going to come, if that’s going to be allowed, do we still have to social distance on the dance floor? But I think it will be more okay," said Horvath.
One local wedding planner says the peak time for weddings to take place is right now, but many have had to hold off on their celebrations.
“The majority of our weddings have chosen to postpone, postponements as early as June for brides that maybe were getting married in the April/May time frame. They have some in July, August, September and then we have a few that have decided to go ahead and postpone for the whole year and give themselves some time, give everyone some time," said Ashley and Co. lead coordinator Kelly Markwood.
A lot of these changes for postponed weddings will depend on the availability of many factors including the couple, venues, vendors, and caterers. The uncertainty that surrounds the virus throws a wrench into a lot of plans.
“There’s a lot of aspects of a wedding that haven’t been thought about since the reopening standpoint. Yes the ceremony has been addressed, the venues have been addressed, how many people...There are so many more logistics of catering food, bar, dance floors and there’s not really any set true regulations on some of that and so a lot of these venues and vendors are having to do this one at a time and figure out what’s best for them, what’s best for their clients, what’s best for their guests. It’s a lot of unknown," said Markwood.
As of right now, most wedding venues in Texas are allowing 25% capacity, and weddings that have taken place during this time have either moved virtual or had to cut the guest list.
