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Dan Jones, Wedding Officiant

Embracing Ceremony Blog

How to Have a Covid 19 Elopement

Livestreaming a Covid wedding

Being a Taos wedding officiant in 2020 offered some distinct challenges. I also was rewarded seeing the innovation and resiliency of people, especially when they were determined to get married. Despite great progress against Covid, we still need to be careful. What lessons can we take from last year and apply to your Covid 19 elopement in 2021?

While I officiated many weddings in 2020, I continue to practice safe guidelines. I’m only officiating in outdoor spaces. Before and after your ceremony I will be masked; unmasked for the ceremony at 6+ feet of distance.

If you can’t wait a moment longer, give me a call so I can answer your questions about getting married during Covid-19!

A socially-distanced wedding at El Monte Sagrado
A socially-distanced wedding photo with Dan Jones and the happy couple.

Just the Two of You at Your Covid-19 Elopement

One easy way to move forward is to have a destination elopement – something special for just the two of you. When done in lieu of a planned larger wedding this saves a lot of money since cheap elopement packages are readily available. You can budget your elopement to exactly what is important for you. Post-Covid-19 the sky is the limit on how you can celebrate. Many couples I worked with in the latter half of 2020 were looking forward to having a reception – or just a big bash party – when the pandemic has subsided. If it is important to you, you can certainly have a second wedding ceremony and/or a vow renewal as well. Perhaps this is the best of two worlds? You get something very special strictly for you and then a party to celebrate with all those you love without worrying about the details of a ceremony.

Livestream Your Wedding

One great idea that I saw for having a Covid 19 elopement was for couples to livestream their ceremony so all their friends and family could be present. With our comfort in such technology now commonplace, this is a very viable option. It has the added bonus that your entire wedding ceremony is captured on video and you can preserve it for all time. You also have immediate feedback from your loved ones in the live feed.

A couple livestreaming their wedding during the 2020 pandemic
A couple livestreaming their wedding during the 2020 pandemic

Eloping at Home

There were weddings I officiated in 2020 at the couple’s home. What a great solution! And if yours is a destination elopement, I can come to your accommodation and officiate there. This is an especially good option in Taos as most accommodations offer quaint and scenic outdoor spots on their grounds.

At your home, you can have the ceremony outdoors where people can be socially-distance yet still present for the ceremony and a celebration to follow. Some people keep the guest list down to their pod while others expand upon that with an eye to safety. There are some very cute, color-coordinated and creative mask options available!

So if you’re tired of waiting for Covid to be entirely in the rearview mirror, give some thought to finding the Covid 19 elopement wedding package that fits your needs. Destination elopements are all the rage and you get the added benefit of combining your trip for your wedding with your honeymoon. Try Taos as a scenic, spiritual and artistic destination elopement location.  

Browse my Wedding Packages or Elopement Packages pages or just reach out with your questions so we can get planning what works best for you.

Want more information on this topic? Email Dan at Dan@EmbracingCeremony.com

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