March 12, 2020​

Updated July 16, 2020

Faded Poppy Weddings

 

We at Faded Poppy have been following the latest directives of the CDC and the Governor of Virginia and have always taken far more precautions than normal to ensure the well being of our clients, their friends & family, vendors and ourselves.

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Virginia moved to Phase 3 on July 1st.  We would like to share the guidelines and executive orders which we are required by the state of Virginia to follow when planning and celebrating your big day. Phase 3 Guidelines, Executive Order 63 & Executive Order 67 .  For the purposes of the coordination aspect of your wedding we will be specifically highlighting 3 of these. Mask wearing, guest capacity & social distancing. We realize masks and facial coverings have been the topic of many debates and we respect differing opinions however what we cannot debate is that our governor has mandated we all wear them inside and outside when social distancing is not possible. We want to address how the facial coverings and other guidelines will affect your wedding so that we can assist you in putting protocols in place to keep us all safe, healthy, working and celebrating.

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• Planning:

  • Phase 3 allows for the lesser of 250 individuals or 50% of the occupancy of your venue to be present for all social gatherings, this includes guests, wedding party and all vendors. As such all tables, buffets, seats etc. must be distanced appropriately and guests be seated by household only or otherwise distanced safely around tables.

  • We are recommending that clients provide additional disposable masks and sanitizers for their guests use and not rely solely on  the venue and/or catering staff.
     

• Set Up:

  • We are asking clients to please sanitize and disinfect any items we and/or their catering staff would be asked to set up and display. We would also ask that anyone carrying said items into the venue wear a mask or facial covering to protect droplets from spreading onto them.

  • We will be onsite to set up all of your items but require guests and clients to keep a minimum of 6’ between themselves and us and speak to us only when they are wearing their masks or facial coverings. 
     

• Ceremony:

  • We are recommending ceremony chairs be spread out to give space to guests, we are also recommending extras for those at risk who may like to distance themselves further. When the ceremony is being held outside it is our understanding masks and facial coverings are not required by guests, wedding party etc. with distancing and/or separation by household. Ceremonies held inside however will require masks or face coverings be worn by all parties, including the wedding party and all vendors unless they have a medical condition. *Couples may remove their mask or face covering for the first kiss.

  • At this time we are advising all ceremonies be held outside when possible to keep your wedding as close to your vision as lawfully allowed. If you are unable to move outside we would recommend keeping your ceremony short & sweet to limit the time guests are in close contact.
     

• Reception:

  • All guests, wedding party and vendors will be required to wear masks or face coverings when indoors unless that person is seated, eating & drinking or has a medical condition. Per the executive order (Executive Order 63) this is not optional, this is mandated by our governor and put into place to keep you, your friends & family, venue hosts, vendors and us safe, working and celebrating throughout the season.

  • Guests and all other parties participating in dancing indoors are required to wear a mask or face covering, outside guests should remain socially distanced from those not in their own household and wear a mask or face covering when this is not possible.
     

• Grand Exit:

  • Guests lining up for sparklers, bubbles etc. in close proximity should be wearing masks or face coverings or be socially distanced by household.
     

We understand the last few months have been especially difficult for you, we also understand that the above items and guidelines are not what you would have envisioned for your wedding when you started planning. We are heartbroken for you having to navigate this ever changing landscape. We hope that you understand that we are also navigating new territory and doing all we can to keep everyone healthy and safe while doing our best to keep your weddings as close to your vision as lawfully allowed. These guidelines and orders, although admittedly not much fun, are keeping you, your guests and vendors safe, healthy, working and celebrating. In addition to this we must also think of the health of our small business. If we do not follow these guidelines or knowingly participate in any event that chooses not to follow these guidelines we risk being fined, having our business license revoked and losing our livelihood. The loss of our business would be devastating to us but also extremely unfair to you and all of our clients entrusting us to remain healthy, safe and operating throughout the season.

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Other considerations

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We are frequent hand washers so please excuse us if we disappear to wash or sanitize our hands after contact with a person or object at any location including your wedding.  We are still more than happy to decorate your event space with personal items and pack them up at the end of the night, but we’ll just be more cognizant of germs than usual while doing so.  Please be mindful when packaging your items prior to your wedding not to handle them after accidentally coughing or sneezing into your hands.  We suggest keeping yourself abreast of CDC developments in order to keep yourself and your guests safe.

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We are no longer offering in-person meetings, including any that are already scheduled, until further notice.  We are more than happy to meet by telephone, FaceTime or Skype.  As always you have unlimited access to us via email, phone & video chat.

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Anybody with an event during phase 3 may wish to consider postponing in the hope restrictions will relax in the near future.  Many vendors, including ourselves, do not penalize for postponements.  If you are going to proceed with your wedding during phase 3 then you must adhere to the mask wearing, social distancing & maximum occupancy requirements or you and your vendors will be breaking the law.

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We would suggest preparing yourself for the possibility that some guests may decide not to attend your wedding at the last minute.  This could be because they became ill; they’re travelling from a viral hot spot; or because they’re reluctant to travel by air.  This could be especially true for the elderly and infirm.  If you get to a point where you feel you must make some hard choices about who to invite, please feel free to discuss this with us.

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If we should find ourselves subjected to the virus, we will do everything we can to be as minimal a disruption to your day as possible. You may find that the Faded Poppy member you were originally working with cannot attend but another will replace them; if we are all unable to attend then we will have a list of trusted wedding professionals whom we can call upon to step-in and take our place if needed.

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You must tell us if you have traveled to a hot spot in the 2 weeks prior to your wedding or if you have had, or have suspected to have had, COVID-19 in the 2 weeks prior to your wedding.

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We will take extra care when creating and delivering flowers, this will include extra hand washing, contactless interaction and swift exits. Please know that this is for your protection and not because we don’t want to spend time with you.

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Our floral wholesaler is able to cancel most items we order last minute but not all.  Please give us as much advance warning as possible, no less than 14 days, if you need to cancel or reschedule your floral order so we can relay this to our wholesaler.

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This has not been an easy decision, limiting our contact and implementing some of these restrictions is going to be difficult because of how much we care for each of you. We appreciate your understanding and hope we can get through this together, quickly. 
 

 

 

Faded Poppy Mercantile

 

We appreciate our new & returning customers and were just beginning to get busy.  But the risk of cross contamination has caused us to temporarily close the Mercantile’s doors – we are continuing to offer our inventory for sale at a new e-commerce site with all purchases being available for USPS or UPS Ground Shipping.

 

https://the-faded-poppy.square.site/

In order to keep our merchandise virus-free we are performing our own strict hygiene regimen and nobody except the two of us are permitted within our store.

 
The health of our clients, customers, family & friends is paramount, and we thank you for your assistance in our quest to keep everybody safe & healthy.
 

 

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have.

 

Thank you very much for your understanding.