You’ve asked and we’ve answered! Welcome to your weekly column ‘Planning Your Happily Ever After’ with wedding consultant Shikima Hinds.

Many engaged couples put a pause on tying the knot during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, as implemented restrictions prevented dream weddings from becoming a reality.

As vaccines become progressively available and restrictions are being loosened, there is now a glut of weddings. The downscaled and mostly dormant wedding industry has started re-emerging. As things begin to open, more couples are ready to say “I do.”

Several weddings still took place over the past year, though plans had to be adjusted and ceremonies looked less traditional and were much smaller. The wedding season has however once again begun to shine brighter and we are getting on with it! Not only locals but many destination couples are taking advantage of the summer for outdoor weddings and venues are becoming tightly booked.

When you combine the couples who delayed their 2020 wedding celebrations with those who had already planned to get married in 2021, added to those who got engaged during the pandemic, it’s inevitable that the rush for 2021-2022 weekend weddings will be on in earnest.

But are your guests ready?

After more than a year of social isolation, a guest deciding to attend likely means that they are are willing and ready to interact with larger crowds, which may include strangers whose health status they may not know.

Celebrate to the fullest with these tips:

1. Remember that many pandemic-era wedding protocols should still be in effect.

2. Don’t worry about anyone on your guest list who may be offended by you asking if they are vaccinated or your request for them to adhere to your wedding rules. If they don’t like your rules, they shouldn’t attend.

3. Offer guests non-verbal ways to communicate their personal comfort levels with others.

4. Keep up-to-date with the local wedding guidelines, which include:

If you have less than 100 persons in total, that would be considered a small event.

Events with more than 100 persons will need to follow the application and approval process for a large event.

The new curfew time for the most popular wedding day, which is a Saturday, is now 11:00 pm. (Effective July 1st, 2021).

Right now, the wedding industry feels like there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.

As brides, grooms, and their vendors cross into this new period of the pandemic, safety should always remain the top priority.