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Tips on Making your 2021 Ontario Wedding Guest List(s)
If you are reading this and planning for a 2021 and 2022 Ontario wedding celebration, you are not alone in dealing with who to invite! The reality is this – couples have had to reduce guest counts for Ontario weddings, no exception. Unfortunately, it’s been almost a year since they’ve been forced to invite, uninvite, tentatively invite and last minute invite their favourite people for their celebration, and we don’t see this changing until the end of the year. Well now we, Lydia Ivy and myself, know you might be thinking “this blog post doesn’t sound very upbeat or light hearted”… and to be quite honest this first part isn’t. We’re hitting you with some provincial facts and links to the government’s website on all things covid-19 as it pertains to Ontario weddings. But it’s all out of love. But we promise you’ll want to keep reading for the informative stuff and cute photos along the way!
As per the Ontario provincial website, gathering restrictions are based on what area of the province you are located in and classified into colour coded zones. Within each zone there are different gathering restrictions whether you’re planning a staffed event at a public venue or you are hosting your wedding on private property (at home, an airbnb, family property, etc). For the time being, Ontario wedding ceremonies and the reception are being treated as different events and therefore distinct guest counts which means creating multiple and or ‘contingency’ guest lists. So be sure to check which zone and venue type you and your wedding falls under and then cross reference that with your guest count numbers!
Based on the current guidelines, we don’t see things changing in terms of what a Ontario wedding reception is going to look like before the end of the year. As we can see from the zoning across the province and the restrictions in place for each scenario (private property vs. venue + indoor vs. outdoor), they are very similar once in the orange, yellow and green zones. Therefore be sure to check with your venue on what their 30% capacity is, as every space will be different, this will be applied for your ceremony only.
The below numbers and zones are taken directly from Ontario’s website on the response to Covid-19’s colour coded framework and refer to your wedding reception only (when eating and drinking is concerned). Please note your guests will have to wear a mask when ever not eating or drinking.
To download the latest PDF released by the Government of Ontario on March 13 2021 with the full response framework click below:
If you want to know what zone your wedding will fall in, or more information on each zone check out this link;
COVID MVPS
We’ve been so happy to hear and chat with couples working through this tough planning process who have had an open mind and still have so much optimism around their celebration. Here are some of what some of our Covid Planning MVPs have had to say;
Couples have begun to get creative and work with Ontario wedding planners on how to make their day special or unique while still adhering to the restrictions. We asked a couple of questions of Toronto wedding planners; Lynzie of Love by Lynzie and Jasmine of All That Jaz Weddings, on how their teams are dealing with the zoning restrictions and how they are assisting their couples throughout this process:
Any advice for couples and their ever changing guest lists?
Lynzie: “If you are getting married in 2021, the ideal situation is to reduce your guest count to 50 or less. The safest bet right now is to plan for tight restrictions- our team is planning weddings for this spring, summer and fall with guest lists of 50 or less and are optimistic to be in the Orange zone for these events. If we’re in a zone higher, magical, but for now we’re remaining pragmatic and listening to the government forecasts regarding vaccines and numbers. If you are dead set on larger, the answer is to postpone. I don’t think it’s worth the potential loss of money or the disappointment to be planning for over 50 people.”
Jasmine: “Create your A-E list based on the restrictions we saw last year. 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100. By taking the time to complete the list now, it will save you a lot of stress if you have to make a quick decision.”
Things to think about when deciding on who to invite to your wedding?
Lynzie: “There are a couple important questions that I think you should be asking yourself when you are deciding who your core 50 people are- are they directly related to me? If it was my last week on earth, would I want to dedicate a 60 min conversation to this person? Will I be thinking about them all day if they are not present at the wedding? If the person doesn’t answer yes to one of these questions, then maybe it’s worth putting them on your virtual attendee list. Virtual attendees can still share in your ceremony by getting dressed up and toasting to your vows from a far. We’ve even been creating custom gift boxes for couples that are delivered to virtual attendees on the morning of the wedding. You can still make these guests feel special.”
Jasmine: “There are many factors to consider when deciding who goes in what category. Start with your immediate family and talk to them about their comfort level with the wedding and guest count.”
Now for the awkward Q, How to deal with un-inviting some of your guests..
Lynzie: “By now, everyone is used to uncertainty and knows that there are limitations around events and weddings. My suggestion is to maintain an open line of communication with your guests, no matter how informal. Whether it’s a BCC email to your entire guest list or formally mailed cards, your guests will appreciate knowing your approach. Explaining to them that your guest list has to be reduced due to COVID-19 and that you are keeping it to immediate family or close family and friends, they will understand.
You could also section off your guest list and share messages in groups like “If the restrictions are still 50 people or less, we’ll be asking you to attend virtually” or “if we’re able to have 50 people, we’d like you to be there in person. As the numbers are limited, please notify us well in advance if you won’t attend”. And if they don’t understand, well truth be told they don’t deserve to be on your guest list in the first place. It’s hard enough for couples to be reducing their guest lists and forfeiting the wedding they dreamed about, then to have Negative Nancy making it about her.”
Jasmine: “Be honest and upfront as soon as possible. Give your guests time to cancel any accommodation/reservations they have potentially made, and invite them to join virtually. By now, most people understand that there is a chance they won’t be able to attend a wedding this year. This isn’t news to anyone and most guests have been very understanding of the situation.”
I’m sure if you are planning for the second time around, or you’re having to rethink a smaller celebration, that you of course want it to still feel personalized, unique, and honestly, not feel like a covid wedding. We’ve rounded up a few ideas on how to still incorporate traditional wedding day elements into your celebration!
- Have a champagne toast but just do it virtually! To make your non-attendees feel extra special, you could even have bottles of prosecco or champagne dropped off to everyone beforehand!
- Get creative with your postponement announcements! Work with a stationary designer, or call your punny friend to come up with something cute to let your guests know your plans to postpone the big celebration. Some cute ideas we’ve seen are
“Same time, Same place, New date” “Good things are worth the wait” “Love is infectious, but so is the coronavirus” “Let’s try this again””Save our date again”
- Lots of couples or guests like to hold on to a printed invitation as a keepsake for the future. Opt for other beautifully printed pieces such as welcome booklets, or individualized love notes/cards to each guest, there’s lots of other ways to incorporate pieces onsite throughout your celebration. If you’re planning to live stream your ceremony, you could still send out printed invites to the virtual event, or even a ceremony card.
We know this isn’t the easiest information, Ontario wedding days are going to be under stricter guidelines this year and this might be hard to digest for people wanting to have a big party on their wedding day. So grab a drink, take a deep breath and head over to our initial blog together about replanning – it’s a bit more light hearted! As always – feel free to reach out if you need to chat, or bounce creative ideas around – remember, YOU CAN COUNT ON US
Jenn
Lydia
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