Brides and grooms across Ireland can today breathe a tiny little sigh of relief as they finally get a glimpse at some wedding guidelines.

Wedding Guidelines: As a Covid Bride-To-Be myself I can confidently say that planning a wedding at the moment is a roller coaster of emotions. One minute you're feeling all excited and happy while looking at invitations and table plans and the next you're filled with dread at the thoughts of not being able to have the day the way you had planned it.

If you are planning a wedding for this year (like me) you have probably been in limbo about whether or not the day will actually be able to go ahead and also what it might look like.

Today Fáilte Ireland and the Irish Hotels Federation have released a document called Guidelines for Re-Opening Hotels and Guesthouses. On page 26 of that document, there is a whole page dedicated to weddings. It's the first little bit of guidance we have been given for weddings since lockdown and it is much welcomed.

I will flag before I go into the details that there is still no clear guideline on numbers (that hasn't been decided yet) but the rest of the guidelines seem very straight forward and manageable! Yay!

Here are the Wedding Guidelines:

On Arrival

• To avoid making direct contact with doors, guests should enter the property through doors that are automated or manually operated by an employee where possible.
• Hand sanitisers (touchless whenever possible), will be placed at all entry points. These must have a minimum alcohol content of 60%.

Drinks Reception

• A private room should be used, if available.
• Service stations must use physical distancing queuing systems.
• Tea/coffee/drinks and canapé stations must be managed by service personnel. There must be no self-service stations. Canapés must be in individual portions.
• Remove as much loose furniture (e.g. sofas, etc.) from the room to ensure maximum space for physical distancing.

Dinner Reception

• Entrance doors should be opened whilst guests are entering the dining area.
• Table and guest spacing must adhere to Government’s Public Health advice.
• Hand sanitiser must be made available at the entrance to the dining room.
• Management must ensure signage is in place to welcome guests and reassure them that employees have been trained in line with the Government’s Public Health advice.
• There must be no shared items at the table.
• Instead: Water jugs must be poured by service personnel only.
  Salt and pepper shakers, butter dishes should be available only on request.
  Instead each guest should be given individual portions/ sachets.

For The Meal Service

• There must be no family-style service of food (i.e. no shared vegetable/gravy dishes, etc.)
• Wedding afters must be served directly to each guest fully plated.
• Ensuring distancing on the dance floors: Signage on tables and dance floors must ask guests to respect physical distancing guidelines. - Employees must monitor and manage distancing.

Also to Remember

• All third-party suppliers must ensure they adhere to the Government’s Public Health advice.
• Clear signage must be in place to request physical distancing.
• The maximum number of people attending a function (including service personnel) must be in line with the Government’s Public Health advice

So there you have it! A bit of a glimpse at the future of weddings. We hope that this gives brides and grooms planning a wedding this year in Ireland a little bit of hope and a sense of calm.  You can read the document in full here.