Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington, DC, announced the capital city’s latest COVID guidelines at a press conference Monday that dancing at weddings — both indoor and outdoor celebrations — is now banned, Breitbart reports.
Bowser said, “Standing and dancing at receptions are not allowed.”
“It’s insane, it’s been an absolute roller coaster,” says Stephanie Sadowski, a DC wedding planner and owner of SRS Events.
Sadowski told Fox couples are being forced to move their weddings outside of the nation’s capital with just one or two week’s notice.
Bowser issued an “order last week extending the district’s prohibition against indoor public gatherings of more than 10 people and outdoor public gatherings of more than 50,” and mask-wearing is mandated in both scenarios.
The mayor’s order includes the following decree:
Multi-purpose facilities and venues may host events such as weddings and special non-recurring events provided that there may be no more than twenty-five percent (25%) of capacity in any room or up to two hundred fifty (250) persons, not including facility staff, whichever is fewer.
…
Attendees and guests must remain seated and socially distanced from each other or other household groups. If these events include dining, facilities and venues shall adhere to the rules established for restaurants and licensed food establishments. Standing and dancing at receptions are not allowed.
WUSA, a CBS affiliate based in D.C., reported, “The dancing ban goes into effect May 1 and applies to both indoor and outdoor receptions. Some couples are rushing to relocate their celebrations to Maryland or Virginia venues where restrictions are looser.”
WUSA also reported one wedding planner said “D.C.’s starting to feel a little like the mythical town of Bomont in the classic movie Footloose — the town that banned dancing.”