Weddings in Los Cabos During Coronavirus: A Cabo Covid-19 Guide
If you’ve been planning on having a destination wedding in Los Cabos, you may be wondering how to navigate the situation now that COVID-19 has changed how we handle social gatherings. The good news is Mexico is slowly opening its doors to travelers again, which means weddings in Los Cabos are possible as long as precautions are taken and guidelines followed.
We’ve put together this guide to help you get up to speed on the Coronavirus situation in Los Cabos and how to safely get married in Los Cabos during the pandemic. (Scroll past the Infographic to keep reading)
COVID-19 Cases in Cabo San Lucas
As of September 1, 2020, there are 941 active cases (116 suspected) of COVID-19 in Baja California Sur. The Los Cabos municipality has 234 of those active cases. Check the BCS Covid-19 website for updates and real time data.
Los Cabos Coronavirus Timeline
March 22: First COVID case registered in Cabo.
March 30: Lock down for all the state. Beaches, bars, restaurants, hotels, and all public places and non-essential businesses are officially closed.
April 30th: First tentative date to reopen was on April 30th, but was extended to June 1st.
During this time, the authorities made strong recommendations to the Los Cabos community to stay home, only leave under very necessary circumstances, avoid gatherings, social distance, and implement sanitizing measurements.
June 1st: A "traffic light" system is in place with a total of 6 levels - 1 being green and 6 being red. Essential industries reopened including mining and construction.
The authorities require that all businesses complete a training in COVID to learn about the disease, how to protect employees and clients, how to keep extreme sanitizing measurements, and contribute to limit the spread. This certification is mandatory to allow any business to reopen.
June 15th: Moved down to level 5. According to this system, the reopening will be done slowly, allowing certain industries to go back to business with a limited capacity of 30% allowed for hotels, restaurants, and beaches to operate.
August 31st: Cabo has advanced to Level 4 (orange), which means that Cabo wedding venues can operate at 40% capacity and businesses such as gyms, beauty salons and spas are open as well.
Current Los Cabos Travel Requirements
Cabo is open and ready to greet tourists. The maximum capacity in public spaces is 40%. At the moment, there aren't any travel restrictions, but there are some protocols you’ll need to follow.
Here is what you can expect to experience when you travel to and visit Cabo:
Upon arrival and departure at the airport, you will have to fill out a form that monitors where you are coming from, where you are staying at, and where you will be going back to.
Your bags will be sprayed with antibacterial.
You will be required to wear your mask at all times while inside the airport.
You will get your temperature checked. This is not only at the airport, but also everywhere you go: restaurants, hotels, shops, car rental, and any other offices.
Additional Safety Measures
As you travel through the Cabo community, you will also notice:
Mats with liquid disinfectant for shoes
Tunnels that spray antibacterial as you walk by
Sanitizing stations available all throughout buildings (hotels, bathrooms, restaurants, shops, offices, etc.)
Signs on the floors and on countertops to remind people of the right distance to keep between each other
QR codes to access menus and other printed material
If you decide to adventure into a grocery store like Mega, Costco, etc., please keep in mind only one person per family can come in at a time and the capacity is limited, so at peak hours you may have to wait to get in.
Mornings from 8-10 are usually hours when the elderly are the only ones allowed into stores and other public places. Please avoid those times out of respect for those who are compromised due to age.
Is Cabo Open for Weddings?
Under strict supervision we’ve been able to hold a few weddings over the past couple of months as a way to test and determine how we will operate in the near future.
As of now, we are able to have weddings, as long as we enforce the rules (sanitary protocols, mostly), but we want to point out that this is a shared responsibility between the client and us.
Please note that these measurements may not apply next year around your wedding date, as we are hopeful that 2021 will be more like the "old normal," but we will keep you posted as things unfold.
How Has Vivid Occasions Prepared for Weddings During COVID?
As of June 25th, the Vivid Occasions team has completed the mandatory certification required for reopening business. We have PPE that we use for our meetings with vendors, venues' staff, and our clients.
We have also completed sketching classes, floral design workshops, an interior design master class, customer service training, and health and sanitary protocols training.
We want to make sure we are the best team for you, and we are excited to use the new learned skills for your wedding!
How is COVID Affecting Weddings?
As your wedding planners, we are in close communication with the venue, your vendors, and other parties involved in your wedding and want nothing more but to make sure that your stay in Cabo is memorable.
During all events, the Vivid Occasions team will be wearing masks and keeping the cleaning protocols we have mentioned before, such as washing hands frequently, monitoring temperature, intense and constant cleaning of highly touched areas.
You will not be required to use masks or keep social distancing during the wedding or any other event, however please note that while in the hotel's common areas or enclosed spaces (lobby, bathrooms, elevators) the use of masks is mandatory.
Requirements and Recommendations for Your Cabo Wedding
We will require you to sign a waiver of liability in case you or your guests get sick. At your request, we can have all of your guests sign waivers, but this is not a requirement.
We highly recommend that two weeks before your wedding you send a kind invitation/ suggestion to your guests to keep social interactions with groups outside of the wedding to the bare minimum, just as a way to minimize the risk of spreading the virus among guests.
We also recommend staying up-to-date by visiting the CDC website where you’ll find current information on COVID-19 in Mexico.
What if I Need to Cancel My Cabo Wedding Due to COVID?
If your country of origin has severe travel restrictions, you will be able to move your wedding date one time without penalties or change in prices.
If you decide to move the date a second time, please be aware that the venues or hotels will most likely apply different rates or adjustments to venue fees.
Vivid Occasions and vendors will require a rescheduling fee, as well. This is due to having secured a date in our calendars for you, moving vendors, contracts, and other wedding related tasks that need to be done to confirm a new wedding date in everyone's calendars.
Cancellations will incur in all deposits forfeit; this is not as a penalty, but as liquidated damages. However, depending on each case, some venues and vendors are being flexible and can offer to use all these monies paid as credit for a future visit and/or celebration in Cabo.