How to Have a Wedding During a Pandemic

How do you have a safe wedding during a world-wide pandemic? It isn’t easy, but its better than no wedding.
My son and his wife were supposed to marry in an ancient Abby in Tuscany, Italy in spring 2020. However, the pandemic and the many deaths in Italy put an end to that! They kept waiting for the country to open up, and it didn’t so finally they decided to get married at home in late summer. They were older—both were grandparents with many siblings and nieces and nephews. So they decided to have a family wedding.

They were both very safety conscious, so they wanted a safe outdoor wedding while the weather was good rather try to have an indoor wedding. So, they made plans to get married in a large park with a gazebo, wagon wheels, trees, and lots of scenery.

It was six months into the pandemic, so everyone’s hair was long and shaggy. So, the bridegroom’s family had a beautician come and cut their washed hair outside on the patio—with everyone masked. Many of the males got together and got haircuts and shaves at the local barber’s shop.

The invitations were very Italian, and they planned an Italian-style wedding menu, including a cappuccino-machine, a popcorn machine and an italian soda bar.

Everyone was expected to wear a mask unless they were at the table set aside for their immediate family and while eating. If you went visiting other tables, you were to put on your mask. For the ceremony, the chairs were set away apart, especially for the elderly guests.

The bride is escorted down the aisle by her 93-year old grandfather

The grandfather of the bride, in his 90s, walked her down the aisle, while the groom’s best man was his 6-feet 7-inch son. The officiator was a friend of the groom’s brother, an actor, with an online license to marry people.

The couple were so happy that they asked the officiator to begin the wedding by copying the first part of the wedding from the Princess Bride, “Mawage! Mawage is what bwings us togevuh today,” the officiator lisped. The rest of the ceremony was a beautifully voiced tribute to marriage and eternal love.

Later, while the entertainer, a vocalist with a guitar. One of the shows the newlywed had recently watched was a “mockumentary” a fake documentary about a singing group and their fake new hit, “Slowly, gently. . .” The groom asked the entertainer to play the fake song during the entertainment, and everyone laughed, including the unsuspecting bride.

Lights were strung up diagonally across the wedding area, to bring added light as the evening went later.

There was also a fancy “porta potty” called the “Honeypot” (it was really nice in-side, not your average industrial stinky porta potty) and an actual sink to wash hands in was included in the décor. Hand sanitizers were everywhere.