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JAMM AQUINO / MARCH 15
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi delivers his State of the City address on March 15 at Mission Memorial Auditorium in Honolulu. The mayor announced today that outdoor weddings on Oahu may now have up to 100 people.
JAMM AQUINO / APRIL 3
A Cake Life boutique bakery worker Tiffany Waikiki checks on Easter cookies. The award-winning custom cake shop is among thousands of vendors in Hawaii’s wedding industry whose businesses have been hit hard due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said today that outdoor weddings on Oahu can include a maximum of 100 people, including staff, effective immediately.
He made the announcement after receiving approval from Gov. David Ige for the change.
Earlier this month, Blangiardi came under heavy criticism for allowing more people at funerals but not at weddings as he amended the current Tier 3 restrictions.
He told wedding industry executives and supporters that he wanted to include weddings in the loosened restrictions but that his request was denied by the governor and state health officials. He vowed to appeal the decision.
“From photographers and florists, to officiants and planners, the entire wedding industry has been hit especially hard by the pandemic,” Blangiardi said today. “My team and I listened to the business owners and voiced their concerns to the state. We are happy to announce these determined entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to expand operations in a safe manner.”
He thanked the governor and the Department of Health for reconsidering their initial denial.
City officials said that under the amended framework, weddings under the supervision of event planning professionals are now allowed in Tier 3, with a maximum of 100 people per event, including staff, at outdoor venues only.
Table seating in groups of up to 10 individuals is required, and everyone must follow proper use of face coverings and have their temperatures checked. Dancing is allowed at weddings, as long as dancers wear face coverings and follow spacing requirements of two dancers for every 36 square feet, with a maximum of 32 dancers, officials said.
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The new wedding restriction details and the reopening framework can be found at www.oneoahu.org/reopening-details/#weddings.
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