Just a few months ago, I could have never imagined I’d be writing the title of this blog post. So much around the world has changed due to Covid-19. And if you’re a Bride to Be, you’ll know better than most how a world wide pandemic has a habit of pulling the rug from under your feet. I’ll be trying to unpack my feelings around having to reschedule my own wedding three times soon on the blog. But, for today, I want to answer something I’ve been asked and, honestly, hadn’t thought about myself until recently. Will I have to wear a face mask at my wedding? With talk in the Commons and on national television about the possible introduction of mandatory face coverings in some settings in England; I know some Brides to Be are concerned. Now, we all know that no young girl envisaged wearing a blue surgical mask on her wedding day when playing make believe at marrying her Prince or Princess Charming. But – then again, no one really looks forward to getting married in a pandemic. Grown up Brides to Be will know a carefully curated bridal look can be thrown off by something as simple as the ‘wrong’ earrings, let alone a face covering.
So, the question is; if you’re getting married in the near future, should you, will you wear a face mask?
The place I’d start with this is: what sort of wedding are you having? Are you having an intimate wedding? The happy couple and a couple of witnesses? If so, you may find it unnecessary to wear a face mask on the ‘Big Day’. If you feel it is possible to socially distance yourself from others outside of your household during the ceremony and celebrations later in the day, then it might not be imperative.
If you’re having a wedding with the maximum of 30 attendees (as set out by the English Government at the time of writing), then you may want to consider a face mask. If there is a possibility of coming into close contact with your guests, then I would highly suggest at least taking a face mask to your wedding. There will be times during your ceremony and afterwards that it is possible to be at a safe distance from others, but it will be unlikely that this will be possible throughout the whole celebration.
When considering what type of wedding you are having, I would also ask you to consider other things such as how are you getting to the ceremony, the size of the room you’ll be married in, what you’d like to do after the ceremony and my next point; the risk to others.
After speaking to other Brides to Be, I know a lot of women and their partners have chosen to go ahead with their plans, the best they can this year, because of the age of some very important people: grandparents. Josh & I both have VIP Grandparents that we desperately want at our wedding too, so I completely understand why this is so important to so many couples. Grandparents typically fall into what the English government have classed as the most ‘at risk’ of contracting Covid-19. So, if you’re planning your ceremony in the next few weeks (and, I’m sorry to say, probably months) and are inviting great grandma Vera, who at the best of times is a little frail, then please – for her sake – wear a mask. If you’d like to hug great grandma Vera after you say ‘I Do’ or have those special pictures with her and the rest of the family, then yes: wear a mask.
But I don’t want to be the only one in a mask?! I hear you. I might be slightly strange if the only ones in PPE were the happy couple, so I suggest if you feel a mask is important for you to wear, then encourage your guests to wear one too. If you’d like to be extra thoughtful, maybe consider purchasing some spare face coverings to have for guests to put on before they enter the building. Think confetti basket but with masks. (That’s another sentence I never thought I’d write.)
Did you know there is such a thing as a Formal Mask? Neither did I until I recently read THIS article from Sarah Spellings at Vogue. But, apparently, as people all over the world start to move towards life as normal again, there has emerged a market for formal masks. Beaded, silk, feather adorned – you name it, there’s probably a designer out there creating a mask to suit your colour theme. If the standard disposable mask makes your toes curl then maybe look into a more luxurious offering. If you’ve got to wear a mask on your wedding day, might as well make it pretty eh?
The question of masks at weddings is very real in 2020. It’s a question that, sure, none of us would really like to be having, but here we are. Speak to your partner, what are you both comfortable with. Weigh up the risks sensibly (and yes, that means without thinking of the Instagram photos) and make your decision.
Sam