CORONAVIRUS AND YOUR DESTINATION WEDDING IN GREECE
Is Coronavirus affecting your destination wedding?
Of course we cannot know what the future will bring and the situation is changing as we write this article, but for now there is no reasons to panic in Greece!
To date Greece has less than 200 confirmed cases and the government is doing everything to prevent the spreading. Of course the numbers are growing all over the world, as with any flue or any other virus.
At this point big events and conferences in Greece are suspended for 4 weeks, schools and school activities are suspended for 2 weeks and all sporting events and shows happening in closed doors for 2 weeks, starting on 9th of March 2020. As of 14th of March 2020 all places with high traction like clubs, theatres, museums, shopping centres and restaurants, cafeterias with exclusion of takeaway or delivery are closed for 14 days. The Greek government is now taking every extreme possible action that is needed to contain and minimize the spreading of the COVID-19 virus, because we dont respect the rules.
What about your wedding?
With this, many preventive extreme measures are in place globally that might affect you and your destination wedding! You have probably been planning your wedding for a while now and Coronavirus can affect or postpone your plans!
Many brides are in the process of booking their vendors and putting down the deposits, or have already done this. And this situation of not knowing what will happen in the near future is not helping the planning process! Therefore many vendors are adding new clauses in their agreements for the extreme case of emergency where one or both parties could not fulfil their obligations due to coronavirus to protect both parties.
If you have to reschedule your wedding which is happening now, trust your planner and/or your vendors to go through this difficult times together. They have your best interest at heart!
We believe that if your wedding is scheduled later in the year or even next year, the situation will hopefully be under control by then. None the less, things are changing daily and best is you keep a close relationship with your wedding planner or some wedding professional from the area of your wedding, who can advise you about the changes. Believe us, they are doing everything they can to avoid the domino effect and to create the best possible outcome for your case! This is why you should always consult your wedding planner before doing any drastic changes to your ongoing plans.
Let’s see what some of the wedding professionals working with destination weddings in Greece have to say at this moment about the situation:
Destination wedding planner Bobbie Karagianni from Sand and Lace Events tell us:
“So far I did not have any cancellations or postponed weddings, however some brides have asked about the situation in Europe and Greece as they are from the States or Australia.”
Event planner Dimitra Grigorea of The Event Operator states:
“We keep an eye on the developing information about the Coronavirus and the countries it has spread to. We follow 100% the official authorities on the subject having on mind that the priority is the safety of yours and your guests. And we are ready for the outbreak keeping on mind all scenarios and we continue to work for our 2020 summer destination weddings as normal until we receive an updated travel restriction by the local government.”
Wedding photographer Christina Vardali says:
“All my weddings are happening as planned. So far I didn’t hear of any cancelations and even now, our shoots are happening as planned and I have been just booked for a baptism in May!”
Fun tips:
- Have fun with your wedding and treat the situation with respect.
- Think of incorporating fun hygienic games to disinfect hands at your upcoming wedding, or even give small fun sanitisers, gloves, masks as favours?!
- Opt for vitamin boosts with delicious local oranges and lemons!
- Use the benefits of Greece and Mother Nature the best way possible!
- Switch from buffet to plated dinner, avoid common bowls or servings.
- Consider cancelling some parts of your wedding that could bring others in danger.
- Advice elderly to be extra protected or many not attend if they are in the high risk group!
In any case please consider the general health suggestions when travelling or going out. Don’t forget to wash or disinfect your hands often, avoid animal contact and raw or under-cooked food.
Postponed events in Greece
Bigger events are being postponed around the world and it is safe to say that bigger group gathering or events are best to be postponed at least till after the summer also in Greece. If you are headed to an event make sure it did not get postponed and some travel around the world may be affected by coronavirus pandemic. Before you start any travels check government advice to see whether your trip has some restrictions.
One of such major events that got postponed was Destination Wedding Planners Conference, which was scheduled to happen in Rhodes in April. The organizers of the world’s largest B2B platform for the destination wedding industry, QnA International along with their host partner for the congress in 2020, Mitsis Hotels, Greece’s largest owned hotel chain, have announced that the upcoming DWP Congress will be postponed to 4-6 November 2020. Originally scheduled for April 1-3 at the Mitsis Alila Resort and Spa in Rhodes Greece, the Congress is postponed due to increasing concerns over coronavirus (COVID -19) outbreak.
From the DWP organisers
“In light of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) growing worldwide, QnA International has been closely monitoring the situation. We have listened closely to the information coming from different parts of the world and advice coming from our summit’s sponsors, advisory board members, planners as well as local authorities and partners, and with health and safety of all our clients as top priority we believe postponing the event to November 2020 is the right decision for all involved, with hopes that the current challenging situation will have abated” said Ackash Jain, Director, QnA International.
“Whilst Greece remains completely safe for travel, and has deployed heightened medical and hygiene protocols, we fully understand that for an international congress which draws participants from more than 70 countries, travel restrictions and quarantines imposed by some countries and airlines for individuals travelling from or to areas affected by the outbreak makes it impossible to go ahead with the event on planned dates in these uncertain times. Rhodes Island where the congress is scheduled to take place has no reported case of coronavirus (COVID – 19) and is completely unaffected. We have partners in Greece who have worked tirelessly for almost a year to execute the event next month but with safety the number one priority and an unanimous commitment to deliver a successful happy event that can connect our attendees to international colleagues from different parts of the world, we believe getting few more months will only help us in making a more enriching Greek Isle experience with a plethora of activities and experiences for all 500 international wedding experts headed to the beautiful all-inclusive Mitsis Alila Resort and Spa in Rhodes Greece this November.” He further added.
“We are given some more time to further look into detail and organize what’s meant to be the best DWP ever at our Premium Alila Resort & Spa!” said Stavros Mitsis, Managing Director of Mitsis Hotels. To know more about the upcoming edition of the DWP Congress, visit www.destinationweddingcongress.com
At this time
The situation at this moment is difficult for all, as well as many businesses and event organisers all over the world, however this is not the reason to panic or for hasty decisions. We stay hopeful for the future and that the virus won’t survive the Greek summer and the heat!
With that being said, as co-organisers of ALCHIMEIA, the first Portfolio Building retreat in Dexamenes this May, we are also facing the same situation. And, this being a small private gathering, ALCHEMIA is still on track as planned. Of course the situation is constantly changing and we are paying close attention to all the changes that might affect this. Because nothing is more important to us than your health and well-being of everyone we do have a plan B in place. Follow Alchimeia for more info on Social Media for more ongoing information.
How you can help prevent the spreading of Coronavirus:
- Wash or disinfectant hands often
- Don’t kiss people
- Don’t shake hands or disinfect them immediately
- When sneezing or coughing, do it in your sleeve
- Avoid touching your face
- Don’t eat raw or under-cooked food
- Keep personal hygiene Keep your home clean
- Girls, don’t share food, drinks or other items such as makeup
- Get plenty of sun and vitamin C
- Follow the rules of world Health organisation
- Protect your loved ones who are higher risk or in danger by keeping your distance
- When travelling be extra mindful of all of the above
- If you are ill stay at home and call your doctor
- Don’t panic and don’t cancel your plans if there is no need to do so
We are stronger together and we can achieve so much more! Let’s unite through these hard times and be mindful of the rules of hygiene together to stop the spread! The same as any difficult moment in your life, this one is going to pass as well.
Stay strong, stay productive or take some time for yourself and just relax.
Follow us on Social media for the updates and news!
