Anyone else planning a destination wedding during Covid-19?

I’m eloping but I understand your frustrations! Your guests should understand that you are getting anxious for information too! I told my guests we will let them know information as soon as we get it, and they haven’t asked for any reception details since. We are planning to go to Jamaica in June if the travel restrictions are lifted since it’s only us. I understand having a group of folks can make it a little more complicated.


Do you know about what Costa Rica’s guidelines are for group gatherings right now? Your coordinator seems about right. June would give your guests enough heads-up where guests could cancel their travel plans if needed. Everywhere is different, but we have gotten all of our travel expenses reimbursed for all cancellations so far. Maybe we’re just lucky, I don’t know.
I hope that helped a least a little, and I wish you the best! I’m a planner, so playing things “by ear” isn’t my forte, but I’m just going with the flow at this point. I do think that June would be a good time to know if you’d want to cancel or rebook. We are making a decision about a month ahead as well.

View Quoted Comment I’m a planner too! So this is really hard. Costa Rica closed their borders in late March and were hoping to reopen the country April 13th. They extended it to the end of April. I’m kind of afraid that they’ll reopen and have travel restrictions to and from the US since our country has so many cases. I’m hoping they won’t do that... even if they restricted gatherings to 50 people or less, that’d still be okay! I just hate the “wait and see” game 😣

View Quoted Comment I hate it too, it is the worst! Especially after all the planning we have gone through and money and whatnot. People keep telling me at least we will have a crazy good story too tell, but I don’t care one bit about that lol

Honestly, I’d postpone or cancel while you and your guests can still get the money back. We were forced to cancel our destination wedding for May 2nd due to my fiancé’s employer setting travel bans. It was really upsetting but there was no way around it. I’m sorry to be such a downer, but my point is that just because Costa Rica doesn’t have many cases doesn’t mean it’s safe for your guests to travel and depending on what state you all live in and who they’re employed by, you and your guests may still be required to self-quarantine for 2 weeks upon return. My fiancé’s employer required that (and it would've been without pay) as did many employers of our immediate family members.

View Quoted Comment Luckily, I’m not worried about our employers at all and my fiancé and I have sooo much paid time off that we have accrued. So if we have to quarantine on return, that’s completely fine! A lot of our family is already retired and most of my bridal party work independently.
If I was getting married in May, I would totally have postponed already, so I understand where you’re coming from. I’m still hoping that because the wedding is still over 90 days away, there’s enough time for some stability to return. We will see!

View Quoted Comment YES! My fiancé says the same thing. He keeps saying, “Well, at least we will have a cool story to tell our grandchildren one day.” 😐

Hi Katie,

I'm truly sorry that you're going through this. Thinking about postponing your wedding is not an easy decision, and it's tougher when it's not your call. BUT Costa Rica is such a beautiful place -- I'm sure it will be equally fun and relaxing when you're able to head down there.

WeddingWire has gathered some resources here: COVID-19 Wedding Support Central. You'll find articles like:

- What to Do If You Have to Cancel Your Destination Wedding

- You’ve Decided to Postpone Your Wedding. Now What?

- “My Wedding Was Postponed Due to Covid-19, but Now I Get a ‘Do-Over’”

If the financial strain of this pandemic prevents some of your guests from attending, will you be OK with their absence? Will waiting until 2021 guarantee their presence? You can't control anyone's circumstances, of course, so maybe you could take an informal poll of the family and friends that you most want to see at your wedding. Their responses may help you decide your next step. In the end, you should make the decision that feels right for you.

Wishing you all of the best!