Plus some tips and advice to rearrange your wedding successfully without failing in the attempt
Love in times of Coronavirus is facing hard times right now, actually, everyone does…
As you might all know by now, COVID-19, originated in Wuhan, China in late December of 2019 is propagating itself around the world at lightspeed and is affecting several industries along its way.
Tourism is one of the most affected industries of all, because this virus can be spread by physical contact, a handshake could be enough to catch it if the other person didn’t follow the hygienic recommendations!
Although many countries have taken very severe decisions on the matter, like quarantine, closed borders and curfew, in other countries life runs almost as normal, but the reality is that the virus does exist, and the priority now is to stay safe and avoid crowded places.
Here we’ll break down a few points that you’ll need to take into consideration if you are planning your Destination Wedding at the Riviera Maya, Cancun, Los Cabos or anywhere in Mexico:
Current situation in Mexico about COVID-19
Coronavirus is just arriving in Mexico, the first cases were confirmed a few weeks ago, and by the time there’s no very big number of infected people considering that Mexico has a population of over + 120 million people, but considering also the speed that the propagation took in other countries is not worth exposing ourselves.
Schools already closed, as well as many government dependencies and buildings, some private companies, restaurants, and bars are sending their people home… But many businesses are still open, many local people are on the streets doing their everyday life as usual, and despite the government advice to stay home and avoid going out unless it is strictly necessary, this isn’t really happening.
Cancun, Tulum & Playa del Carmen (The most visited and now affected destinations)
Although Mexico hasn’t taken any severe decisions about closing its borders and not allow the entrance of foreigners to the country, the governments of many countries have warned not to travel for the duration of the pandemic to prevent infections and propagation of the virus.
So yes, technically you can get a ticket to Mexico (if your country allows it and you find a flight) and be able to reach the Riviera Maya just by passing a normal temperature test at the airport, but we highly recommend staying home, health is first now.
Many airlines are canceling and rescheduling international flights throughout the world, and unfortunately the contingency is hitting us in peak season here.
Just a few weeks earlier the occupancy for the season at the Riviera Maya was of +90%, today, is below 20%, more than 500 hotels, resorts and other types of accommodations have closed their doors because of the low demand, restaurants, local stores, bars, beach clubs, and many other businesses are being affected by this situation as well. People are going unemployed, and independent businesses that depend on tourism are getting almost all the job canceled or postponed.
How Coronavirus affect the Wedding Industry, and what to do if you’re postponing your wedding
From massive to little events have been canceling or rescheduling dates because of the Coronavirus, concerts, conferences, forums and more are not happening in this and the following months, the most strict recommendations tell that events that reunite more than 10 people shouldn’t be carried out.
We know how much effort and time is invested in weddings, especially destination weddings, and if you had your wedding planned for this season in Cancun, Los Cabos or another part of Mexico we’re sure you are already taking care of it, but don’t let the stress take control over you, take a deep breath and solve one thing at a time, stay positive!
Next, we have prepared a list with tips and notes to help you remind all the things to take care of and be able to reschedule your wedding without missing any detail -Making your own notes and keeping things organized will help you a lot in these situations-
- If you had already chosen a date for late 2020 please let us know, we have open agenda for late 2020 and all 2021. -
First thing to define: rescheduled date! Take a look at the calendar with your fiance and decide a new date for the wedding, you just have to keep in mind a few things when choosing a new date for your wedding:
Flights will have to be rearranged for you and your guests
You and your guests will have to reschedule your stay at Hotel, Resorts or Villa.
Availability of your wedding services: many times, Wedding Photographers, Wedding Videographers, Musicians, etc. are booked with a lot of anticipation, in the face of this adversity we’re all being flexible with dates.
Maybe the best thing to do is to set 2 or 3 possible dates and choose the one when all the pieces match (guests, providers, accommodations, etc).
If you hired a wedding planner, he or she will take care of the details like decorations, photographer, videographer, and other services hired, but if you are planning all on your own, here’s a few tips that will be helpful:
As we mentioned earlier, setting 2 or 3 possible dates isn’t a bad idea.
Keep everything organized! Organization is chaos worst enemy, don’t let panic run through your head, grab your notebook, computer or tablet and make a list of all the services you have to reschedule, make a checklist including your possible dates and start making phone calls. If you don’t want to lose time calling each one of them, you can write a general email explaining when you want to rearrange your wedding and ask them to reply with the dates that suit them too.
As for your guests, we know that probably this part will be the hardest, but send them a message telling them that you’re changing the date, and you’ll let them know as soon as possible the new date, they will completely understand!
Regarding plane tickets: most airlines are offering solutions to this issue, you can move the date of your flights, each one has its own terms and conditions, some of them are charging extra fees, some of them are not, we recommend to check your email inbox to check if you have received instructions for the reschedule, if not, you can check their social media profiles, they are posting useful information on this topic, the most important thing here is not to freak out, phone lines are now saturated, and the best thing to do is to send them an email ASAP with all your flight’s details. They are usually attending in order by the departure date, so please keep calm and wait for your turn, but don't lose sight of it, insist if necessary, they don’t want to lose clients so they’ll eventually respond with a solution.
Accommodations: same thing as rescheduling plane tickets, check their social media profiles to keep up to date with them, some are offering refunds, rearrangements and other solutions. Stay tuned and contact them by email telling them which solution is better for you, again, insist if necessary.
We know the is a lot of stuff to do, but we invite you to follow our advice and keep everything in order, you don’t have to suffer this. We’re happy to help, so if you have any comment or concert feel free to contact us; if you have a reservation with us please let us know what’s your plan and we’ll reschedule at your convenience.
What to do if you’re in Mexico Now
Most countries are letting national citizens return home, check the latest news and official releases of your country’s government and health sector about this specific issue.
If you weren’t planning to return yet, the recommendations are to change your flight date to the earliest date possible and return home, no one wants you sick! Please attach to the sanitary precautionary measures and don’t leave home if it isn’t strictly necessary.
Please consider staying home and attach to the sanitary precautionary measures, there is plenty to do!
Here’s a fun list of things you can do during quarantine, be creative and try something new, stay positive!
Prepare and write down your vows
Learn to play an instrument, maybe at your wedding you can use that ability to impress your fiancee!
Learn to cook something new
Listen to new music! Make a playlist four your wedding party or choose a song to choreograph together and impress everyone at your wedding.
Watch a Ruiz Films Wedding Film! Get inspired for your wedding!
Take online lessons of something, many teachers have had their classes canceled at their institutes and are teaching online temporarily.
Learn a new language with an online course.
Start a couple diary.
Plant some seeds, in some supermarkets you can find tomato seeds and others, maybe in a few weeks you could be eating your own cultivated tomatoes!
Check all those papers and documents that are pending to order.
Do an exhaustive cleaning of your house, maybe you find something interesting on those old boxes in the basement.
Travel from home, take an online tour! Here are some interesting links:
The Louvre (France): https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne
Frida Kahlo Museum (Mexico): http://www.museofridakahlo.org.mx/es/el-museo/multimedia/
Machu Picchu (Peru): http://fromcusco.com/spheres/mp.html
Discover more virtual yours on https://artsandculture.google.com/
Conclusion
We know this situation is very difficult for everyone, but safety is first, and it’s on our hands. We have to see the positive side of all this, maybe it is an opportunity to change some things in our lives, reflect and meditate, appreciate the time with family and couple, a breath from work, time to learn something new…
Don’t let yourself down, everything will return to normal, postpone plans, but don’t cancel, please contact us if you’re seeking to book a date for your wedding, we have open agenda for late 2020 and all 2021, let’s not forget that this pandemic is something temporary, and eventually we will return to our normal life.
We’ll catch you later with more advice on wedding cinematography and planning, maybe we have new things to learn and discover too!