From the New York Times: With 2.5 million weddings expected to take place in the U.S. this year, mailboxes are filling up with invitations. Here, experts suggest ways couples can take some pressure off guests.
In January, Brittany Lo, the founder and chief executive of Beautini, a bridal beauty company in Manhattan, traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico, for a friend’s wedding. Come March, Ms. Lo will be in Jersey City, N.J., attending another friend’s wedding. And two days later, in Miami for a third. Though Ms. Lo, 30, works in the industry, the events that she has gone to are not work-related.
“I’ve been invited to 15 weddings this year,” she said. “I can only go to 10.” While Ms. Lo loves weddings, being invited to so many “can be overwhelming.”
She is not alone in this sentiment.
Some 2.5 million couples are expected to marry this year in the United States, and many others are planning second celebrations after holding scaled down weddings because of the pandemic. As a result, mailboxes are filling up with invitations, daunting people like Ms. Lo as they try to figure out how to fit everything in.
“Couples are asking a lot from their guests both socially and professionally right now,” said Maya Jain, the owner of Tyrian Purple, a consulting firm for weddings and events in Manhattan. To help ease the stress on guests, she suggests soon-to-wed couples shift their point of view. “Rather than seeing the wedding from their eyes, they need to walk the steps of their guests,” she said.
If you’re requiring guests to submit Covid test results ahead of time through a specific app, download that app and sign in as if you are a guest to ensure the user experience is seamless. If you’re hiring a shuttle service, call ahead to confirm the vehicle is stocked with hand sanitizer and that it is roomy enough for passengers to space out. You could even go so far as to take a trial ride with the company.
Ms. Jain compared such measures to a menu tasting: “The same way you’re taking time to experience the food and how it’s being prepared and presented is the same way you’re going to try these guest necessities and interactions,” she said. “The goal is making everyone as comfortable as possible.”
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