Earlier this year, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the number of guest allowed at wedding receptions at 50 will be increased to 150 or 50 percent of the capacity of the reception venue as of March 15th.

That's great news for brides and grooms I'm sure, provided their guest list wasn't over 150 to begin with. Otherwise, either the list will have to be trimmed or the wedding postponed for the time being.

When I heard of the news, I was happy. I mobile DJ wedding receptions from time to time, but last year, DJs and bands pretty much lost all their gigs due to the coronavirus.

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But the question everyone who may be involved in wedding receptions including the bride, groom, entertainment, reception hall, photographers and others was, "can there be music and dancing?" I was thinking how boring a wedding reception would be with little or no entertainment. At first there was no clarification from New York State, but now there is.

The New York State Department of Health states that entertainment will be allowed at wedding receptions from bands and DJs, but there are rules attached that are attached to the wedding reception.

The New York State Health Department states that wedding guest can only dance with family, household or immediate party seated at the same table. And that's not all. There needs to be dance zones. These dance zones must be at least 36 square feet and at least six feet from other tables and dance zones.

Oh yea, if you are dancing, you have to wear a face mask. As for the bands and DJs, they must remain 12 feet away from any guests or be separated by a physical barrier, such as what you see at any business where you interact with an employee. So shouting out a song request may be a challenge, and I'm wondering who will be in charge of enforcing these rules?

Not that I disagree with them, but will someone from the venue be responsible for keeping guests in their respective dance zones? No one can switch from one dance zone to another. Hopefully all will go well. It will be interesting to see how wedding receptions will play out this year.

For detailed rules about reception rules, visit the New York State Department of Health's Interim Guidance For Food Services During The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.  

via New York State Department of Health

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