It feels like we can finally see a glimmer of a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel and that means large weddings and celebrations will be a possibility again! It also means that people who had to do a smaller wedding ceremony and/or may not have had a reception are thinking about whether to make up for that… enter the Re-ception. Isabelle and her husband are in the middle of figuring out what to do and we thought it might be helpful to talk about the process in case you’re considering it.

Who?

The OG invite list - everyone you would have included had there not been ever-changing restrictions!

What?

This is possibly the hardest/most confusing part considering that no one in our lifetime has had this dilemma, but here’s what Isabelle and her husband have decided to do: they want to host all their friends and family for a sit-down dinner, dancing and dessert. In many ways it won’t be like a wedding day at all (except the wedding cake! How thrilling to not have all food be individual servings), but they do want it to be special and fancy enough that it feels like a celebration of their marriage and also of their community. *If we’re being honest: there is also an element of wanting to make it worth people’s time, especially for those that might travel for the event. After all, for Isabelle and her husband this is also a “thank you” to everyone for their support and encouragement.

When?

A lot of factors have to be accounted for here, but they are deciding to wait until the summer of 2022. While our vaccine uptake is going pretty well (yay!) and hopefully COVID rates improving, this summer still felt a bit too soon to be sure they could do it without worrying about rules and last minute changes. Planning a wedding with a bunch of contingencies once was enough, they want to have that normal, carefree experience everyone else has (haha). Two other considerations: children (whether or not you are inviting them, parents are still encouraged to be cautious since anyone under 12 cannot currently be vaccinated) and anyone traveling from other states or countries. For those reasons, 2022 felt like the safer bet.

Where?

Budget will be a large factor here and we fully support whatever form this takes for you, from a picnic to a sit-down dinner at your original wedding location. Everyone we’ve heard from just wants to be able to have that once-in-a-lifetime gathering of all the important people in their lives that they missed out on and celebrate a really fun and important thing that happened. It’s also possible that a lot of people will decide to take that all that money and go on a vacation instead, and that is totally ok.

Wear?

To wear the wedding dress or not… and what about the wedding party? At first we thought we would, but the more time passes (and bodies change…) we might not. Plus, it’s an excuse to buy a new outfit, right?! It’s also likely the ladies would still have their dresses, but the guys wore rentals and it seems like a lot to ask them to rent suits again. We do like the idea of the bride and groom wearing something that is a nod to their wedding day though - a white cocktail dress and maybe the same tie. Have fun with it!

What do you think? Are you planning on having a Re-ception? We’ll post updates as we figure out what this new celebration looks like :)

We are also offering Re-ception coordination services for #covidcouples who want to celebrate their marriage with all their friends and family. We would love to hear from you!