Ontario Weddings - no dancing

View quoted message Hey could you send me your venue please? In a private message, let’s not call them out lol

View quoted message It sounds like it, but I think laws will be yoyoing so much for the next while it would be risky to rely on that email as being the current law

Unless there’s a miracle and COVID is very low risk suddenly, we will only be having first dances.
Even if social circle dancing is allowed, our reception is indoors and the sad reality is most people will start dancing in groups that aren’t their social circle. It could very easily get out of control and our goal is to have a safe wedding. We don’t want anyone to get COVID when they attend our wedding.

We are still making a hopeful wedding playlist. We plan to have a “wedding playlist party” on one of our wedding anniversaries in the future if Ontario isn’t corona free by July (99% sure it will still be an issue). Lol last year we legit thought that was a solid possibility. But we want to have a dance when it is safe to have everyone mingle maskless indoors and have a buffet style meal so definitely won’t be for a couple years probably

View quoted message We were not allowed to mingle. We had to seat everyone according to households and they had to wear masks if they were not sitting at their table (ie going to the bar or restroom). We could not have the ceremony seating 6 feet apart so guests had to wear their masks but still sit in their households.

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I would love to know more about how you safely did mingling? Did folks walk around with their masks on or did they stay within their household bubbles without masks on? We are thinking of doing something similar!

View quoted message We had an outdoor wedding and it was gorgeous! Definitely outdoors is the way to go now. And the month you are getting married is a beautiful time

View quoted message Yeah i’m thinking of doing backyard wedding at my fiancé’s family’s huge backyard and dancing there.:.!!!

View quoted message Your email is grayed out. And I’m afraid now that the cases are a lot higher the message will not be the same...

View quoted message Can you forward it to me too please! **********@*****.***

If outside, you can have designated social distancing dancing spaces. Basically spaces that people can be 6 ft apart and let people know their boundaries, sort of what they did for parks in Toronto. Worth a shot if outside, no different then going for a run I'd say.

The no dancing is what put us over the edge for deciding to postpone. We already have been waiting over two years to get to our date and now that we are so close we added another year. For us when we get married isn't as important as having our family with us and enjoying the day. We think about our relationship as already married without the ceremony. Even before we set the date we had been together for years though. Every situation is different and you have to figure out what is best for you.

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Thanks, but the date will very likely be moved if the case count continues the way it goes.

View quoted message If the premier said we can dance within our social circles it’s up to the venue and region. I just hope all brides get what they want and have a fabulous wedding day! These are very stressful times for everyone. Also good luck on your wedding Hank I see you are also getting married in December. I am sure it will be beautiful

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If the venue in Niagara decides to allow dancing then they are in direct violation of orders by Niagara Region Public health. I don't know what business would risk getting fined or closure for someone else's wedding. And Ali's wedding is in December so outdoors is not an option.

View quoted message Honestly I found that it all depends on your venue. I heard some are really strict especially in the hot regions and some aren’t. Luckily mine allowed us to dance but we were all very careful. My wedding only had about 50 guests and it was outdoors which really helped.

Even if the Premier's office allows dancing within your social circle, the local health unit can ban all dancing, which trump his order. In this case, Niagara Region's health unit does not allow dancing and the venue is complying.

See https://www.niagararegion.ca/health/covid-19/reopen/special-events.aspx

Indoor Events - Dancing isn't allowed, unless by a performer

Religious Service, rite of ceremony in place of worship - No choir, singing, dancing or performers at this time

And let's be completely honest - if your health unit and venue allow dancing for those only within their bubble, how many of your guests will actually follow that rule?

View quoted message Yes that’s the one! For anyone who wants the original email please let me know and I will forward it to you brides

We had dancing. I got an email from the premier allowing social circles to dance

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Pretty much everyone was gone by 11:30pm (the bar was open until midnight) however, it was VERY cold and we did not originally plan to be outside, so we had limited heaters. Most people said they would have stayed much later if it wasnt so cold.

View quoted message Aw that sounds nice! Did you notice when people began to leave? Did they stay late?

I just got married this past weekend. We did not have dancing, but did keep our DJ and had a "Mingle" after dinner with an open bar. The music played in the background, some couples would dance together to the slow songs, but mostly people just drank and talked. It was actually quite nice! Not the party we planned, but it was a close second

I spoke to a bride who got married in September. She actually received this email from the premier and forwarded it to me. I believe she showed it to her venue.

On Wednesday, September 9, 2020, 10:10 AM, Doug Ford <*******.**************@*******.**> wrote:

Thank you for your email about weddings. I appreciate hearing your views and concerns.

Our government recognizes the importance of being with loved ones during the moments that matter most. People gathering indoors for religious services, rites or ceremonies, and people gathering for indoor wedding ceremonies and indoor funeral services, can continue to fill up to 30 per cent of the capacity of the particular room, as introduced in Stage 2. If outdoors, the wedding, funeral or religious service, rite or ceremony is subject to the Stage 3 outdoor gathering limit of a maximum of 100 people where physical distancing can be maintained.

Receptions or social gatherings related to weddings or funerals are subject to gathering limits of 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors. Dancing at weddings would be limited to only people within the same social circle.

Thanks again for contacting me.

Doug Ford

Premier of Ontario

This makes it sound like dancing is permitted as long as people stay close to only their 10 person social circles, no?

Unfortunately, this is not a venue issue or a venue requirement. This is a provincial requirement and it’s province wide. No dancing at weddings in Ontario. What’s your venue? I see you’re getting married in NOTL...

Some people have decided to keep their wedding date with just immediate family and then have the reception moved to a year later. Some have postponed entirely for over a year. Some people have had their weddings and had different games set up for people to play. It is all up to what would work best for you and your future spouse really. Its a hard decision I wish you the best.