This is an article I never thought I’d be writing on my wedding site. Tips on planning a wedding during a zombie apocalypse pandemic would be something I would write about on my storytelling site, haha. But, here we are in 2022, even with COVID on the downtrend, we are still in a pandemic – and you want to tie the knot in paradise.
Now here’s the pickle you’re in. You want to get married in Hawaii, but you don’t know where to start, and you got this COVID-crap lurking in the background. So, here are five tips that you should take into consideration, as you plan your wedding in Hawaii.
#1 KEEP YOUR WEDDING SMALL AS POSSIBLE
Small weddings, in my opinion, are always the ideal way to get married. And this is an opinion that I held pre-covid. They are cheaper, less stressful, and a lot more romantic. Any excuse to leave your mother-in-law at home, is a good one. Gala weddings are events, and events are often so stressful, sometimes it’s hard to feel the magic that a wedding day should bring. Oh, you want to feel the love that day; the caterer is late, Uncle John doesn’t want to sit next to his ex, and little Jeremy just ran off of the gift box. If only you kept your weddings small…like Wedding Guy Steve said.
Now, fast-forward to the present, planning a tiny wedding has become extremely advantageous for other reasons. Currently, you don’t have to fear shutdowns anymore. The State of Hawaii has figured out that if they shut businesses down, once again, that would be the end of our local economy. But if covid hits the fan, the first mandates to come out, usually restrict the size of gatherings. During the height of COVID, weddings were limited to six attendants. That’s not a lot of people, but luckily, since many of my couples eloped, it didn’t really affect them. How small do I think your wedding should be? Well, to be quite honest, as small as possible, and as comfortable as it is for you. The smaller it is, the less likely your wedding will have to be modified, if mandates are put into place.
#2 BE FLEXIBLE, SO YOU CAN BE CREATIVE
All of these covid restrictions don’t make any sense to me. You may disagree with me, but hear me out. As of now, if you want to get married in Hawaii, everyone at your wedding party needs to be vaccinated. But, if everyone there gathers for anything else other than a wedding, you don’t. Does that make any sense at all? Now, you can always fight these stupid mandates, or you can find creative ways to roll with it. So, when the government starts to act the fool, you need to outsmart them. In other words, even though you have a set plan, you need to bend, and you need to think out of the box – and you need to do it with a smile.
For example, in 2021, one of our wedding couples planned to get married with a guest list of about 30 people. In the days leading up to their wedding our government threw us a curveball and limited weddings to 15 guests per ceremony. The solution? Well, we had two back-to-back ceremonies, and then afterward, all 30 guests got together at Paradise Cove beacuse that was legal. Again, do any of these rules make any sense.
Creativity saved the day, and the couple’s flexibility kept them sane and happy.
#3 KNOW THE MANDATES AS BEST AS YOU CAN
From what I can tell, we may actually be at the end of this pandemic. There is growing evidence that Omicron will provide us with herd immunity for all present and future covid variants. So, that could mean that all of these mandates (which are not laws) will disappear. But it’s not a guarantee. And who knows what the government will do. It’s an election season, and call me paranoid, but I think they may throw yet another curveball our way.
It’s impossible to know what mandates are here in Hawaii. Maybe you’re okay with them, maybe you’re not. I wish I could supply you with a website with all of their mandates, but they change their mandates so often, their own website is outdated. And our mandates are different for every island. Are they enforced? Not really. But there are still nutty people out there calling the cops on anyone who doesn’t wear a mask in their store.
As hard as it is, know the mandates as best as you can, because it flows into the next tip.
#4 KNOW YOUR VENDOR’S INSANITY LEVEL
Not all vendors are cut from the same cloth, especially when it comes to enforcing these mandates. Some follow the mandates, some don’t. Currently, wedding planners are instructed to ask for your vaccination status before proceeding with your ceremony. There are some photographers who will require you to wear a mask outdoors, sometimes even during the shoot. I once saw a videographer yell at kids who distance themselves from his crew. Do I think this is insane? Hell yeah, I do. I felt as though I had to remind these vendors that we’re not living in Nazi Germany.
Now, maybe you’re a person who loves these mandates…and you want to book a Nazi enforcer. Then all the power to you. This rule applies to all vendors, including restaurants and caterers. Just to let you know, most vendors are not insane, just a handful.
#5 STAY POSITIVE
No matter what happens during this pandemic, always try your best to live in the present, because that’s what you can control. If Covid hits the fan, take a step back, tell a few good jokes, and slowly figure out a plan. Don’t point the finger, play the blame game, and get into a huge fight with anyone. The glass is always full, even if the news and politicians are telling you it’s empty, because in the end you have each other, and that’s what counts. Stay positive. It’s going to be okay.
If you’re wondering I stand on this whole pandemic. Well, COVID is real, but this is a virus that was never dangerous to the majority of us. And it looks as though this virus is getting less dangerous as it gets more contagious. I don’t fear COVID at all. Statistically, I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning twice, than end up dying of COVID. I’m through with these mandates because they don’t make any sense. I’m through seeing politicians implement strict mandates, just to see them breaking it. I’m through hearing “We’re in it all together” from politicians, when they were still allowed to work, and earn, while I wasn’t. All of this, for a virus that I had a 99.998% chance of surviving.
Here are some other articles that may interest you:
FIVE TIPS TO HAVING THE PERFECT BEACH WEDDING IN HAWAII
FOUR ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS TO THE PERFECT HAWAII BEACH WEDDING
Steve Young
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