Gwen Stefani said she doesn't want her wedding to be a 'COVID situation,' and inviting 'just family' is still too many guests
- Fellow "The Voice" judges and singers Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton announced their engagement at the end of October.
- Stefani said in a recent episode of "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" that she and Shelton have no concrete plans for their wedding, as she wants to wait to be able to safely host her parents at the ceremony.
- Stefani also told Seacrest that she feels even if the ceremony were to just include family, "it's still too many people for COVID" — echoing a concern other future newlyweds have felt when contemplating risky wedding plans amid the pandemic.
- Other engaged celebrity couples have postponed their weddings for the time being, including Sarah Hyland and Wells Adams; and Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez.
Fellow "The Voice" judges and singers Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton announced their engagement at the end of October.
Similar to decisions other engaged couples have made in 2020 - such as opting to hold micro-ceremonies, eloping, or holding off on a traditional ceremony with public health in mind - Stefani said that she and Shelton aren't making any concrete wedding plans for the time being in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In an interview with the "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" radio show aired earlier this month, Stefani said that she and Shelton will "see what happens in the next few months" before deciding on details for their nuptials.
"In a post-pandemic world, would you prefer a smaller ceremony or a larger wedding?" Seacrest asked.
"I would say, I just want my parents there at this point. My parents didn't come to Thanksgiving because they're so scared," Stefani told Seacrest. "So I really would rather it not be a COVID situation. I would rather not have masks and that kind of thing - and even when you cut it down to just family, it's still too many people for COVID."
Weddings have been linked to the spread of the novel coronavirus - and even with vaccines on the way, other celebrities have spoken up about pausing their plans
Indoor weddings particularly have proven to further the spread of the novel coronavirus. A widely reported example is a wedding reception held in August in Maine with 55 people that went on to be linked to 177 confirmed COVID-19 cases and seven deaths.
Even at outdoor weddings, it's no guarantee that the risk of spreading the coronavirus is any less, depending on how the number of guests, attendees' health, and people's compliance with mask-wearing and social-distancing.
Other stars have said that they're postponing their wedding ceremonies for the time being. "Modern Family" actress Sarah Hyland, who got engaged to reality star Wells Adams in July 2019, said this summer that she has "no plans" for the postponed wedding.
On the couple's original wedding date in August, Hyland said: "We were supposed to get married today. Instead... we took pictures and drank wine."
"We've put all planning on hold," Hyland told reality TV host Chris Harrison in June. "All of my family is mostly on the East Coast, so for them to fly out ... and just ages and of course with my health risks, we want to be as safe as possible."
Jennifer Lopez also said in April on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" that she also has paused planning her wedding for her marriage to Alex Rodriguez. Lopez and Rodriguez announced their engagement in May 2019.
"We are just kind of in a holding pattern like the rest of the world," Lopez said. "So, again, it's just something we have to wait and see in a few months how this all pans out."
For now, Stefani says she and Shelton are enjoying their time as an engaged couple
In late October, Stefani announced her engagement to Shelton with a picture of her wearing her engagement ring. The two started dating in 2015 after meeting on "The Voice."
She told Seacrest that after years of dating, she and Shelton are "so excited" to get married.
"It feels so weird. People have been saying it for so long, like five years, 'Are you getting married? Are you engaged?' And now we actually are, and it feels like I'm in a cartoon or something," she told the radio host.
Ajay Anand, the founder and CEO of the diamond search engine Rare Carat, previously told Insider's Amanda Krause that Stefani's ring could have cost up to $500,000.
During an appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," Shelton spoke in a more lighthearted sense about his vision for his and Stefani's wedding, which includes just one request: for the band Maroon 5 to perform on their big day.
- Read more:
- 16 stunning engagement rings that celebrities have shown off in 2020link
- 38 of the most beautiful wedding photos taken in 2020
- How to have a meaningful wedding day when you can't have your friends and family under one roof
- Stop throwing big weddings in the middle of a pandemic. It's not just about you.