Dear brides and grooms,
Keep calm and get married
You are probably feeling quite nervous about your upcoming wedding, and this is entirely understandable given the escalation of the Covid-19 and measures to keep everyone safe.
This may have you wondering how your wedding will be affected. I’m not going to offer any advice on how you should manage your wedding plans – that is totally a personal choice for both of you to make. But I do want to assure you that your safety and the safety of your guests are at the top of my mind.
So here are the answers to a few questions that might be kicking around your brain right now:
Will you still be the Celebrant at our wedding?
Currently, the Australian Government has not advised against public gatherings of fewer than 500 people (or 100 people indoors), so until we receive any further updates, Anita Revel, Celebrant, is open for business as usual.
What happens if you (Anita) are sick?
Thankfully, as someone who mostly works from home with my cat, Rosie, I’m pretty well self-isolating by default. But here are some strategies I’m taking to stay safe:
- When I do go out in public I carry hand sanitiser with me at all times.
- I have been exercising social distancing — I’ve become quite good at greeting people with “jazz hands” instead of shaking hands!
- I’m impeccable with washing my hands — I can sing happy birthday (twice) in Japanese, just to keep things interesting, you know.
However, I definitely do not want to put anyone’s health at risk. As long as WHO is considering this a significant threat, at the first sign of a dry cough or fever within 3 weeks of your wedding, I will seek a replacement Celebrant for you.
Luckily, I belong to an amazing network of celebrants who are always happy to help out, which means that there is very little chance you will be left without someone to conduct a beautiful ceremony for you.
How do I keep calm and get married while all this is going on?
The Government hasn’t banned wedding-sized gatherings yet, but it could be prudent to begin thinking about a Plan B in case it does eventuate… Having a back-up plan in place will definitely help you feel calmer.
Depending on your particular situation, we can look at some alternative options which may include:
- SCALE DOWN & STREAM… If your guest list has shrunk due to friends and families not being able to travel, we can stick with our original plans, and stream the ceremony thanks to various technologies at our fingertips.
- LEGALS NOW, PARTY LATER… We could continue with marrying you on your preferred date — just you, me and two witnesses — and postpone the party aspect to a later date.
- ELOPE WITH VIP GUESTS ONLY … So, it’s not the big wedding day you planned, but it can still be as memorable. Have you considered making an event of an elopement style wedding, with you and your VIPs? For example,
- hire an epic car and do a day trip;
- hire a small plane and make it a mile-high wedding;
- hire a picnic stylist and enjoy the most elegant picnic wedding lunch you’ll ever experience?
Ask me how I can help! Contact me here
What if we want to cancel or postpone our wedding because of the virus?
I get it, these are uncertain times, and you may be thinking it would be best to hold off on your celebrations for now.
Some couples have talked about postponing to another date, but there are two problems with this —
- Some venues and professionals won’t refund any deposits paid on your current date choice, and
- It will become a very crowded calendar later in the year — you’ll need to start thinking about a weekday wedding, or morning / evening wedding to ensure you get the vendors you want.
Sooooo, I recommend carrying on with your current date as planned, but consider the ideas outlined above.
If you do wish to postpone your date, I do allow transferring your non-refundable-booking-fee to another date, providing it doesn’t clash with an existing booking.
Whatever you decide, I am here to support you, so please don’t hesitate to email or call me on 0417 937 436 to discuss your options further.
With love, and best wishes,
Anita Revel
(oh, and… keep calm and get married !)