New York is getting ready to celebrate weddings again! As of March 15th, weddings will be allowed with certain protocols in place.

There is still ambiguity to some of the rules and we don't have all the answers yet, but we’ve outlined the starting points below and will keep posting updates as we have them.

Here is a LINK to the full mandate, and the overview is below.

P.S. We are reading the guidelines with phrases “Where applicable”, “should consider”, “may”, “encourage”, “to the extent possible”, “minimize” being at the venues discretion therefore there is some flexibility and we encourage you to speak with your venue directly about their plans.

VENUE & CAPACITIES

• Allowed guest count: 50% of the venue occupancy, or 150 people max, exclusive of employees and event staff.

• Venues must notify their respective county health department or local public health authority of the event at least 5 days in advance of the event.

• Each attendee (if a minor, then their guardian) must sign-in and provide their full name, date of birth, address, email, and phone number for contact tracing when attending the event.

• All attendees over the age of 2 and medically able, employees, and event staff must wear acceptable face coverings at all times; attendees may remove their face coverings when seated at their assigned table to eat or drink.

• Receptions must end by 12:00am.

COVID-19 TESTING

• All attendees must receive a negative PCR test result within 72 hours of the event start time. Those who are vaccinated within 14 days prior to the event date are excluded from this but will need to show proof of vaccination [testing is also still recommended]).

• Employees and event staff must also be tested for COVID-19 prior to events, and must be tested biweekly thereafter for as long as they are actively engaged in hosting events and interacting in close contact with attendees.

ENTERTAINMENT

• All attendees must practice social distancing by maintaining a distance of, at least, six feet from other individuals, except for members of the same immediate party/household/family.

• Live music, entertainment and/or dancing is permitted within outlined parameters, which will be revisited by the State as the public health condition continues to change.

• Performers must have 12 feet between them and guests