It’s important to many couples to involve their family members in their wedding. After all, these are the people who have been there with them during their whole lives; and this special day is no exception. Just as soon-to-be-married love birds wants their families to be involved in their wedding somehow; their loved ones want to be included anyway possible too. Even during COVID-19, there are many ways to make this happen! From virtual wedding streaming to sending personalized gifts, here are four ways to remotely incorporate your family members into your special day.

According to Chicago Style Weddings contributor Sarah Rodriguez, “Your guests are well aware that weddings during the times of COVID are bound to break tradition.”

1. Live Stream Your Wedding Ceremony

This experience is the next best thing to viewing your nuptials in-person! There are many ways to Live Stream a wedding ceremony for attendees to view. Whether you use video conferencing applications like Zoom or streaming services for wedding specifically, you have options in this day and age. This is a good time to lean into current technology and perhaps encourage your grandparents to download Zoom and walk them through the process of setting it up. Prop a webcam or video camera up in a central location during your wedding so that guests can watch your vows from the comfort of their own home. This will eliminate the chance of COVID being spread while inviting guests from out of town into your intimate ceremony.

2. Create a Virtual Guestbook

Life has changed, and times are different now than ever before. If you’re planning a wedding during COVID-19, you could incorporate the traditional wedding aspect of having guests sign a themed guestbook, but make it virtual! Even if you can’t receive guest signatures via physical pens, guests could write a message for you and your partner in a virtual book for you to read after the festivities of the day are finished. You could print the virtual guestbook out, or keep it as a virtual file to read anytime you want to reminisce on your wedding day. You could even make it match your wedding theme. This is an accessible way for remote guests to leave their mark and wish the newlyweds happiness.

3. Send Personalized Favors

To make your family and loved ones truly feel a part of your special day, send them something beforehand that feels personalized to them. This could be a wine glass with their name on it to enjoy champagne during the time that you’re getting married, or perhaps a favor bag with on-theme trinkets that make them feel like they were involved even from miles away. If you live stream your entire wedding celebration, perhaps you could send a small amount of confetti in a bag that they could throw in celebration of your marriage during a planned moment during the traditional wedding recessional. These small ideas would be inexpensive to carry out, but will make your family who can not attend your wedding happy to be involved in some way.

4. Get Creative With Photos

Even though your family members may not be able to participate in wedding photos, you can still lean in to the idea that they’re there in spirit. Get a cardboard cutout with your cousin’s face on it, or take a goofy styled photo that they can be photoshopped into later. Embrace the idea that some people weren’t able to physically attend in a light hearted way that will make you laugh for years to come.

Even though your entire family may not be able to physically attend your wedding during the COVID-19 pandemic, they can still participate in the festivities in these creative and unique ways while remaining safe and healthy.

©CTW Features