In a city where dancing is forbidden, not even a teenager with a rebellious spirit can save D.C. couples reeling from the capital’s latest COVID guidelines.
Seemingly ripped straight from the plot of “Footloose,” Washington, D.C.’s, new social distancing rules ban standing and dancing at weddings. The sudden announcement, made just as wedding season kicks off, has blindsided couples getting ready to tie the knot.
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“It’s insane, it’s been an absolute roller coaster,” says Stephanie Sadowski, a D.C. wedding planner and owner of SRC Events.
Sadowski says couples are being forced to move their weddings outside of the nation’s capital with just one or two week’s notice.
“They want to have a party. Planning their wedding, they’ve made concessions along the way, they’ve reduced, reduced and reduced their guest count in Washington, D.C,” she says.
According to the latest D.C. order, indoor and outdoor weddings are capped at 25% capacity. A waiver is required for more than 250 people.
In a statement to local affiliate Fox 5 DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office said it has the dancing ban in place as an extra layer of safety to reduce the spread of COVID-19 because when people stand and dance their behavior changes. For example, people are more likely to get close and touch each other.
“It’s very confusing why Washington, D.C., is singling that out,” says Sadowski.
D.C. is not the only state evacuating the dance floor – Illinois and Michigan have similar bans. New York and New Jersey just recently eased their restrictions on dancing.
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It is unclear how long the dancing ban will be in place in D.C., but in the meantime Sadowski says her couples are turning to nearby Virginia and Maryland to celebrate their big day.
“I hope the mayor will start looking at the science and looking at the facts and looking at what the CDC is recommending and allowing,” says Sadowski.