Wedding venues in El Paso scramble to re-open, accommodate brides

EL PASO, Texas -- Wedding venues in Texas are now able to reopen immediately, according to an executive order signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott this week.

Event planners at Grace Gardens, an event center in El Paso's Upper Valley, are excited to welcome guests back, but are confused by the state's new order allowing reduced-capacity weddings and El Paso County's mandate which does does not allow social gatherings of any kind.

"It's great that we can reopen, but yet we're getting some confusing signals or messages," said Veronica Valles, an event planner for Grace Gardens. "It’s like we can reopen but all social gatherings are canceled. We are a social gathering venue business, that's what it is.” 

The order states wedding ceremonies and receptions held indoors must only be limited to 25% of the venue's capacity. However, there are no restrictions for outdoor weddings. Valles said in order to comply with the order, planners are working with their clients move them around one of their six different venues.

"We’re moving the clients events into the bigger facilities, so if it's an event for 100 people, we’re moving them into a facility with 250 people," Valles said.

They're also moving some clients events outdoors: "Because we have a lot more wide open spaces, we’re able to do a lot more social distancing,” she said. 

The event center is also increasing sanitation measures as well as implementing masks and gloves for all event staff during the events.

Rebekah Arvilla is one of 40 brides who pushed her wedding back at Grace Gardens from late May to mid-June.

“I still had appointments to go do during the month of March and April that I had to cancel," Arvilla said. In El Paso, the average wedding costs between $25,000 to $30,000, according to Valles.

At least 40 other events were canceled at the venue due to the Covid-19 pandemic, causing a big financial hit. “Were almost fully booked for the entire year," Valles said. "We were really anticipating and excited about a very busy year when all of this happened in March, it just stopped."

Owners of Grace Gardens were still able to pay their staff during the state's stay-at-home order.

Valles said while their confusion on the orders leaves them with more questions than answers, reopening their business gives them the opportunity to allow future clients to visit their venues.

"Most people are going to be able to come in and book for future dates," Valles said.

For more information on Grace Gardens, click here.