_{Photo courtesy of Penzi Weddings}

San Miguel de Allende is a wedding destination, with up to 800 weddings held here in a typical year. On average, each wedding party has 200 guests, and each guest spends up to 8,000 pesos while in town. Contributing further to the economy, up to extra 60 workers are normally hired to support a wedding. But there is nothing normal about the current time. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on this sector. Based on figures from March through June alone, the wedding sector’s economic loss is estimated at over 650 million pesos. 

And although weddings are once again permitted as of August 27 only 40 weddings will take place for the rest of the year, according to Beatriz Súcar, president of San Miguel’s Weddings and Events Association. She said that the association worked hand in hand with city government to reopen San Miguel as a wedding destination, and in order to do this, wedding celebrations must be smaller than the norm and adhere to many rules for the time being. 

Upon the August 27 reactivation, the maximum wedding size, as directed by the municipal government, was 60—a number that has now increased to 90 in closed areas and 150 outdoors. Celebrations must conclude by 10:30pm, no callejoneadas (the traditional post-ceremony wedding party street strolls) or dance floors are permitted, and all sanitary and health protocols must be followed. The wedding association is betting on small weddings for the time being, commented Martha Rocío López, vice president of the organization