ADAPTING TO THE NEW NORMAL - 'SOCIALLY DISTANT' DESTINATION WEDDINGS

INTRODUCTION

The wedding industry is an intricate and beautifully interconnected ecosystem that envelops varied entities like Wedding Planners, Consultants, Freelancers, Hotel Chains, Resorts, Technicians and Equipment Rental companies, Production houses, Goods suppliers, Skilled and unskilled labor, Retail and wholesale suppliers, Florists and flower vendors, Caterers, Artistes (Makeup artiste, bands, photography teams, bartenders and bartending schools), Logistics partners, Airlines, Licensing agencies, Govt Bodies, etc. This industry is unique in its nature as it further enfolds infinite verticals within its cover to provide exposure, benefits and business and helps employ a large number of people directly and indirectly.

Our entire industry has been brought to a standstill by the pandemic; it stares at an uncertain future and the only way forward would be to look at implementing strict measures once the industry is open for business

POST COVID-19 THINGS WILL NOT BE THE SAME, AT LEAST FOR A WHILE...

While virtual weddings seem like the way to go, they are definitely a stop-gap arrangement. A wedding is a once in a lifetime occasion and planning for it goes on for months and sometimes years. Imagine a wedding without having one's entire circle of friends and family around, one without blessings and warm embraces, one without the typical Naach Gaana and those crazy Baraats!

The Coronavirus pandemic poses multiple new challenges and the best way to beat it is to identify the possible problems and look at solutions that can mitigate them. While we tide the pandemic wave and start putting our mind towards planning weddings and social gatherings in the near future, our fraternity can formulate ways on how to execute them with utmost safety.

Our outlook towards the way we approach social gatherings will have to change in this new Post COVID-19 era, at least until normal life is restored. Things that were overlooked will have to be minutely scrutinized, associations will have to be stronger to bring together various entities to do their bit to promote and ensure ‘Safe Social Gatherings’, traditional methods will slowly have to adapt with new procedures and systems to avoid ‘close contact’ as much as possible.

More importantly our entire ecosystem will have to wake up and start functioning anew. It has to be a joint effort, failing which the entire system may crumble. To optimize businesses and reduce infections through community transmission, we have to change our earlier SOPs and everyone will have to earnestly adhere to new rules and regulations as a way of life. We can renew, revive, and rise only if we join hands and collectively make it work.

The New Normal is 'NO SHORTCUTS'. Procedures and protocols will be set in place by governing bodies/ authorities and we as event/ wedding planning agencies, will play a pivotal role in ensuring that all stakeholders are equally responsible and up-to-date with the regulations once set. Overcoming the Corona scare and carrying on with our lives and creating celebrations and experiences that people plan for most of their lives is what we must aim for, and in the best possible way.

We begin with looking at which agencies would take into account ensuring to bring about this New Normal

 4 Major stakeholders would play important roles to ensure that necessary steps are taken to ensure Destination Weddings take place in the safest way possible.

1. Government - To impose and help implement various regulations
2. Airport Authorities - To ensure safe travel experience for all guests
3. Venues/ Hotel chains - To provide sanitized and safe spaces to house guests and for the gatherings to take place
4. Wedding Planners -To ensure adequate communication goes out to all stakeholders to help sensitize them to the new changes in social interaction, to enable support our teams and vendors to provide services safely and as per new norms and to act as the single point of contact between the above three entities and the end consumer.

SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT COULD BE IMPLEMENTED

While the government and commercial airline companies are putting their best foot forward to resume operations in the safest way possible with newly planned procedures, here are a few ideas and thoughts which deem most feasible and necessary, that wedding planners and the hotel industry could unitedly implement to revive normalcy.

 Suggestions for Wedding Planners

• Discourage physical recces/site inspections- All recces can be done virtually. Hotel and Event planners could work hand in hand and use their creative talent to provide the client with the best pictures of the property, works on virtual tours of the entire property. The planner could travel to the property for a video call with the guests and do a virtual walkthrough with them.
• RSVP lists will play a key role going forward. Besides the standard details we used to capture in the past, we should capture travel history, age, etc (This will help track guests and help with contact tracing in case of infection ). This can be shared with the Airport Authorities or the airlines to control the number of guests disembarking at a particular airport.
• Design, engage and implement strong messaging to promote the ‘Wedding Venue’ as the destination. We must highlight the property and not the public beaches and sightseeing attractions, etc. Guests should not be encouraged to venture out of the property for sightseeing for the duration of the weddings, etc. 
• Introduce concepts of new procedures and expectations, such as social distancing and face-covering requirements, and to expect longer wait times.
• Educate guests in a positive way that wearing hand gloves and masks is not a hassle but essential and can be fun. Guests should not get paranoid about using hand sanitizers and these messages should be eased into the wedding communication. This can be done via Mailers, Whatsapp Messages, Bulk Messages, Signages, Messages mobile Apps, Wedding Websites. Introduce the idea of using Masks and gloves as accessories rather than essentials
• Functions at outdoor venues as compared to indoor venues to be advocated
• Stages and Dance floor size to increase to accommodate social distancing
• For guests who are unable to attend the function, involve them in the celebrations with the use of tools like VR and Video conferencing 
• Wedding Planners should encourage guests to have service providers deliver gifts to the families’ houses rather than have guests carry gifts to destinations. The same way return gifts for guests to be placed in their respective rooms rather than given at a function to avoid crowds at stalls.
• Ensure Safety and Hygiene announcements are made before every event by MC
• Encourage guests to bless and wish the couple and immediate from a distance
• All team briefings to be done virtually. Limit teams to a bare minimum and whoever is necessary to be onsite. 
• Avoid executing back to back weddings. While equipment/ material/ inventory and venues have to be sanitized between events and will take time, the workforce will also be required to keep a few days off between social gatherings. Teams to be encouraged to work on projects on a rotation basis which will allow for leaner chances of contracting the virus among the teams on site.
• Proper Disposal of perishable and waste material post-event – Flowers, fabric, etc.

 Suggestions for Hotels

The hotel/venue is literally the safehouse - for every attendee of the wedding, be it the guests who have traveled down from a different state or the wedding planners and their associated teams working at the venue. This will require a detailed set of procedures and strict observance of these rules, once set. Every member employed as part of the hotel must be well versed in their assigned protocols and severe consequences must be established for those who refuse to follow the same when at the venue.

• Hotels could be flexible with booking dates.
• Food is a huge part of social events and food tasting sessions for a wedding can take hours of sampling and discussions. Hotel chains have an advantage of having multiple hotels spread across the country and could work in a unique way to customize the menu and provide sampling to guests by arranging for the food tasting to be done in the patron's city rather than having them fly down for this part of the planning that cannot be done virtually. The chef heading the food tasting can fly down during the dates of the event for the purpose of continuity
• Sanitization Arches/tunnels can be installed at the entrance of all hotels
• Infrared Thermometers/ Thermal Guns to be available at all hotels and individual guest reading to be recorded and alerted if possible
• All baggage to be sanitized before check-in
• Guest check-in to be done online. All documents for check in to be submitted online.
• Allot certain room wings within the property to wedding groups to avoid intermingling and overcrowding
• Hotel chains to include small bottles of sanitizers in every room along with the standard toiletries
• Triple Occupancies (Additional bed in rooms) to be avoided if possible
• Doctor on-site at all times. Additionally, temperature check to be available hotel on request
• All properties should diligently disinfect spaces pre and post each function.
• Venues need to place sanitizers and hand napkins at every point.
• Seating arrangement – Round table that used to previously seat 8 could seat either 4 or 5 guests. If sizes of the table can increase that that will be preferable
• Buffet system to be such that individual servers to be assigned to chafing dishes and guests not to be allowed to be in contact with the serving spoons or ladles. Adequate distance maintained between chafing dishes will ensure that the proximity of guests waiting in the queue will be increased. Alternately, pre-plated meals can be the way forward. Use of ecofriendly disposable cutlery can be suggested
• Caterers to ensure that the raw materials for food preparation are sourced from reliable suppliers, who guarantee utmost hygiene while delivering the stock. 
• Breakfast for guests to be timed and organized in batches as per sections of the hotel to avoid overcrowding. If anyone misses breakfast, they could call for room service.
• Norms on room service to be changed. All payments to be cashless.
• Common Washrooms at the hotels to be used sparingly. All guests to be encouraged to use the washrooms in their respective rooms as much as possible.
• Ensure enough Internet speeds to engage other guests can join in the functions, virtually
• Kitchens and Back Offices to be sanitized. Additionally Back areas/loading docks are also to be sanitized regularly. All staff including Contract workers to follow new hygiene rules
• Each venue to be sanitized after the set up is complete so the décor and elements are sanitized.
• The duration for set up to be increased to ensure that vendors and suppliers can work in separate batches. This will ensure leaner teams as they will have more time to set up.
• The linen of the hotel to be sanitized post-event. Linen should not be reused
• Hotel staff on duty to be present for an entire wedding/event, post which they should be under home quarantine for a certain number of days.

 Suggestions for Vendors and Technicians

• All artists and vendors to be given information about the do's and don’ts and protocols and procedures to understand the gravity of the situation and implement the necessary precautionary measures.
• Ample gloves and masks to be made available. All stakeholders to wear masks and gloves at all times while on-site.
• Instructions on what unwell/ sick workers should do in case of infection to be made clear.
• As weddings and events are set to be more intimate, a large team won’t be required on-site. So decision-makers to be instructed to keep team sizes small.

Artists

• Mandatory six feet (two meters) of social distance may have to be expanded for singers and musical instrument players. Sound equipment like mics to be sanitized pre and post performances.
• Photography teams to be smaller in size. Facetime Photo-shoots are gaining popularity and this could be implemented to keep the number of team members to a minimum.
• To ensure that the bride feels safe, makeup artists and hairstylists will wear masks and sanitize their products, or Brides could carry their own makeup brushes and makeup.
• Choreographers- Choreography sessions and dance practices to be done remotely by recording videos and forwarding the same to participants for practice. This will reduce the contact during the practice session. Also, the choreography can be such that participants perform with a certain amount of distance from each other
• Bartenders should practice safe conduct by wearing a face covering and gloves when they are behind the bar. Garnishes should be prepared in a central location and provided with tongs to handle the same. Luges, Shot Dispensers should be avoided. All glasses and equipment used to be sanitized post use.

Suggestions for Logistics Partners

• Driver to wear mask and gloves and Sanitizer bottle to be provided in each vehicle
• All Coaches and taxis to be sanitized before and in between each pick-up and drop. Drivers should disinfect the passenger compartment after every trip.
• When drivers report for duty, they should undergo the same screening for temperature or infection symptoms 
• Social Distancing to be maintained within individual vehicles

We have to keep in mind that all rules and regulations should be adhered to strictly as not all those infected will show signs and symptoms, a section of travelers could be asymptomatic because they are in an early stage of infection and symptoms have not yet developed, or they may not develop any symptoms at all during their infection.

Moreover, this is not a suggestion to start operations ASAP. This is a counsel to guide our colleagues, associates, and all shareholders to take precautions to plan and execute destination weddings in the country in the safest way possible

As much as we are all eager to get back to work, the decision of when and how to reopen must be driven by our ability to resume operations safely and set the ball rolling to get the industry back on its feet.

I would love to hear your thoughts! If you are in the wedding/event space and would like to discuss or make suggestions, do get in touch.