Save the Dates and Invites who to send them to?

Your guest list can be 2 parts of A and B to the restrictions given and travel plans for guests not able to make it to your wedding.

Your actual day can be celebrated with your family and friends with the bigger celebration held back for a year once all is clear. This would be your A list for those that are local and able to attend. B list can be sent once you know the restrictions are lifted to celebrate your Anniversary, Vow Renewal or second wedding (non-official) with the full guest list feeling secured everyone will be present.

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Hi Natalie, thank you! I didn't think about putting the size restrictions on the website, it would also help explain any tough decisions we'll have to make in the future. Fingers crossed that group sizes will go up.

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Hi Alexis,

Thanks, I think hot-spotting is the route we're going to take. I'm more so worried about the cameraman (my dad) lol.

If you send invitations now to international guests, at least they have a heads up and can possibly prepare to travel if the government allows. How about having a wedding website that you can update in Spanish and English, so that they know what's going on in Canada - travel restrictions, social limit restrictions, and other important information.

View quoted message We are live streaming over data at our location. It’ll be hotspotted from my so’s phone since he has an unlimited plan. It might be worth upgrading for a bit for the memory? Plus you can have it record on zoom so you would be able to go back and watch what your guests watched

View quoted message I didn't want a wedding video, so even though our photographer is primarily a videographer we only had professional photos done.


We had a family member live stream the ceremony for my brother and my husband's parents who couldn't make it and they recorded a copy of it. Ultimately on the recording the audio was horrible, I'm not sure how it was live, but they were happy to be able to watch us get married as they couldn't be there. I had asked a friend to record it as a backup and they "forgot" which is annoying but there's nothing that can be done about it now.
I think even with a language barrier or an audio issue people may want to see it, but it's up to you!

View quoted message Thank you! I’m still not sure what I’ll do but you have been really helpful and given me a lot to think about!

View quoted message Not necessarily a disaster. If you feel your guests are reasonable, then just include a line in your invite about how the invitation is subject to government regulations. If you feel people will get really fussy over you rescinding an invitation, I would hold off.

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I would love to do a live stream, but the venue is in the 'country', so Wifi is kind of spotty, and since my Fiance and I primary language is English I'm not sure if it would be entirely beneficial for my family members who only speak Spanish.

I didn't originally plan for a videographer, but I think because of Covid, it would be nice to have so my family overseas and any friends that I can't invite can still kind of be part of the big day, but I'm not sure, my Fiance is kind of against them. What are your thoughts on videographers and live streaming?

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Hi Hank!

So I currently live in Ottawa but my wedding will be in the GTA so there will be a few people traveling. I've created a tiered guest list (aka I have multiple guest lists at 25, 50, 65, 75, 90, 100, 115, and 130), and I've been operating that if there is still a limit on the numbers that the borders will be closed. I have made the decision to exclude international family members while our borders are closed but would still like to include them in the festivities because they would have traveled for them (ie courtesy invites). I currently have a drafted Save the Date for international family stating that we would love them there if group and travel restrictions are lifted.

We haven't decided on anything virtual yet, but I do know the internet is spotty in my ceremony space because it's outdoor.

I'm also not 100% sure about moving the reception, I am open to having a big (vow renewal) party on the anniversary but I suspect that might be a backyard party instead of renting out a venue again.

Everything is so up in the air, back in March I was confident that we would have been clear by May. Would sending them invites be a recipe for disaster?

Will you be doing a Livestream for people who can't make it? If you are I would do a save the date with a blurb about "streaming details to follow" for anyone, but especially for anyone outside the country.

Is your 50 including the international guests or is that just the locals? If they're just the locals, I don't think Save the Dates are necessary as it won't be a hassle for them to attend. You can send them the invite when the rules are clear that the number is allowed.

If the 50 includes international guests, I think you can send Save the Dates and put a disclaimer that an invite is pending government regulations. If you're planning on doing any virtual options for those who can't be there, you can also state that such an option will be available should anyone not be able to make it.

If things don't work out the way you want it to, would you be open to the idea of having a small ceremony on May 1 and postponing the reception for a later date?