Well, it’s happening. Despite our hopes when my fiance and I rescheduled our wedding from May to September, we’ve accepted that our celebration is going to look a little different than we had originally envisioned. It is, in fact, going to be a Pandemic Wedding.
To keep our guests safe and comfortable, we’re putting a variety of precautions into place, including:
- Reducing our guest list to keep the total number of guests & vendors on site close to 50 or fewer
- Socially distanced seating for ceremony and reception
- Providing hand sanitizer throughout venue
- Asking all guests to bring a mask to wear when social distancing may not be possible
- Changing the music style for dancing from high-energy party music to slow-dance music to minimize heavy breathing & shouting
- Videotaping the ceremony and key reception moments to share with those who can’t attend
Thankfully, our plans were already conducive to airflow and ventilation, with an outdoor ceremony and the reception in an event barn with large sets of doors.
One vision we’re not giving up is having as sustainable a wedding as possible. Here’s how we’re adapting our plans to be both safe and sustainable:
We’re sticking with reusable dishware, glassware, utensils, and linens.
We’ve done patio dining at a couple of restaurants during the pandemic and felt comfortable eating from their dishes and glassware. Given the fact that most people seem to feel comfortable either ordering takeout or eating at restaurants, both of which involve the restaurant serving the food into a dish/container they provide, we believe our guests who feel comfortable attending will also feel comfortable with this choice.
I’ve also toured behind the scenes at our rental company and seen their rigorous washing process first-hand. As I’ve written previously, reusable items can be just as safe or safer than disposable serviceware when items are washed properly. We’re working with our caterer and rental company to ensure our serviceware remains safely covered during delivery and setup.
We’re switching to cafeteria-style service instead of a self-serve buffet.
Our original plan was a primarily self-serve buffet. We’re keeping our menu (tacos!), but instead of self-serve, we’re having catering staff serve all of the menu items and toppings, per each guest’s specifications as they go through the line. Cafeteria-style service ensures that only catering staff are touching the serving utensils, minimizing touch points for the guests. This type of service may take a little longer, but with our reduced guest list, we feel it’s a reasonable trade-off. Food will be covered until dinner service begins.
To maximize social distancing in the food line, we plan to release guests by table to line up. Our dessert is a doughnut bar, which will also be served from covered containers by catering staff.
Our menu wasn’t conducive to switching to plated service, but that can definitely be done safely and sustainably as well. Some tips for plated meals:
- Use clean, reusable plate covers to keep food covered before service. No disposable packaging necessary!
- Use individual ramekins for salad dressing and condiments instead of shared boats or disposable packets.
Beverage service will be staffed as well.
Catering staff will fill water glasses with pitchers, just as servers do in a restaurant. Lemonade and iced tea will be available from bulk dispensers at the bar, which will be operated by a catering staff member. Beer will be available in recyclable cans or bottles. Wine and cocktails will also be available at the bar in reusable glasses.
While we will have plenty of glassware on hand, we’re also open to guests bringing their own water bottles or travel cups if they feel more comfortable with that. Here’s how to safely refill beverage containers brought by guests:
- Have the guest hold their own container (don’t hand it to catering staff)
- Have catering staff operate the beverage dispenser or pitcher, ensuring plenty of buffer and no contact
- Don’t do mixed drinks in containers brought by guests, unless they are pre-mixed and served from a pitcher or dispenser
We’re still recycling and composting.
The vendors we use for recycling and composting are still operating, so we plan to recycle all the beverage containers and compost any leftover food scraps.
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Our wedding is still several weeks away, so I’m sure we’ll continue to tweak and adapt these plans as we get closer. But I hope sharing our process is helpful to those of you planning pandemic weddings or other small meetings who still want to be as sustainable as possible.