VANCOUVER -- Maybe COVID-19 has forced you to cancel the wedding of your dreams — but the City of Vancouver is trying to provide a venue for what it's calling "micro-weddings."
The city says couples can book its Helena Gutteridge Plaza at City Hall for just $85 and bring eight guests to have an outdoor, physically distant wedding ceremony. The fee covers the venue only: couples will still need to book a marriage officiant and get a marriage licence.
The venue is available for eight, half-hour time slots on certain Fridays in June, July, August and September. On Monday, July 27 the plaza has been reserved for LGBTQ+ weddings as a way to mark the start of Pride Week in the city.
There are a few unusual factors and rules couples will need to consider: there are no washrooms available, all decorations must be "zero waste" and cannot be "affixed in any way" with tape, tacks or nails, and throwing rice or confetti is strictly prohibited.
There's also a stern warning about bringing any more than 10 people, total, to the brief ceremony: drive-by guests aren't permitted, nor are more than 10 people, even if they stand far away.
The city had planned to launch a pilot program for weddings at city hall this year, giving couples the option of getting married outdoors on the plaza or inside council chambers.
While that full program has now been scaled back, city staff said the option to use the plaza is something they wanted to offer for those who may have had to change their wedding plans because of the pandemic.
