Covid Testing & ny weddings

HIPPA doesn’t prevent you from asking your guests to follow the law in your state

In NY you're required to get tested 72 hours before the event or a rapid test the day of.

I'm from upstate new york and having my wedding in August. I have mixed feelings about it. They also are making guests write down all their information so they can do contact tracing. Im not a fan but at this rate with them becoming a little more laid-back with weddings I'm willing to go through this with my guests to at least have somewhat of a more normal wedding than what weddings where before in the beginning of all this.

I'm not really okay with either but I am more okay with the negative test. I live in the Northeast so it's not that big of a deal, but if I were traveling, I would decline. What if I got a positive, false or real, and lost money on flights, hotel etc.? If it's a rapid test, and I had already traveled to the area, what would I do then? Too risky to be worth it.


I would not get a vaccine for a wedding, nor would I provide contact info.

NYC bride and I’m honestly fine with it. Gives more peace of mind to an already stressful situation. As for hippa, I guess since it’s a law in the state mandating testing it’s not breaking it. That or it’s just overruled because it’s a public health and safety issue at large.

I would have no issues with it, as long as it was a local wedding. But, as PP mentioned, if I were unable to receive the vaccine prior to a wedding that required me to travel, I would probably decline to attend, simply because I wouldn’t want to risk testing asymptomatic positive after traveling that far.

View Quoted Comment This is a good point about testing that I hadn't thought about. Do you think hotels would allow cancellations with a positive test? I definitely wouldn't go somewhere if I felt sick but a false positive would be a bummer and maybe I'd get another test to make sure

I won't be getting the vaccine because we will be TTC when it is available to me, so I would be upset if that were a requirement and decline. I wouldn't mind getting a test but I can get a test for free at work in 5 min, which I know isn't the case for everyone

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Yes-- I am traveling over 6 hours for this wedding- via car but just worried !

and on top of it.. alot of places will not test you for free for travel/ weddingS!

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I'd think they would, although my fiance and I usually do Airbnb which has been notoriously bad with covid cancellations.

Another thing to consider is timing, especially if you're flying. I believe you can't cancel or change a flight within 24 hours of departure (at least without fees). So suppose I have a Saturday wedding, and I need to get a test 72 hours or less before the wedding. This means the earliest I can go is Wednesday afternoon. But my flight leaves on Friday after work, so the latest I can cancel my flight is Thursday. So now I have to get my Covid results in 24 hours or so, which is doable in some places and totally out of the question in others.

If I'm driving, I still need to leave by Friday afternoon, either around lunchtime if it's far, or mid afternoon if it's closer...so now I have 48 hours to get the test back, which is better, but not a sure thing. But I've already asked off of work, made arrangements for my pets...

Then there's the rapid, day of testing - but if I test positive, I've already spent all the time and money to get to the wedding, and now I can't go. And if I'm flying some airlines, I have to check a box that I'm not knowingly getting on the plane with Covid, so I might not be able to get back home.

All in all it's a logistical nightmare if you're traveling. Within a couple hours, not so much.

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Great insight!

it is just alot for guest to travel, pay 100+ for a covid test, wedding gift all that! thanks !

NY Bride.


I think this is a reasonable request to have guests tested. It’s either this or go back to even stricter regulations. If they don’t feel comfortable they don’t have to come. As a guest I wouldn’t mind if it meant being able to attend.

To be honest, I think its a reason for people having an excuse not to go to a wedding. I would definitely go! I would just book a hotel that had a cancellation policy.

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What Anais said!

Im from upstate NY and I am having my wedding next month and were now coming across issues with guests not being able to afford the covid tests. Does anyone know of places that do free covid testing without symptoms or is this everywhere that you have to pay to get tested?

View Quoted Comment My fiancé and I and my parents got ours done for free at urgent cares (with or without insurance)

I’m seeing a lot of misconceptions about what HIPAA is and what it does and does not protect. This is not a HIPAA violation because it only applies to “covered entities,” which are health care providers, health insurers, and health care clearinghouses, as well as people who handle medical records. It just means that there are protocols in place to keep your protected health information secure and private by the people who handle your health info. It is not a HIPAA violation to be asked to share any medical conditions you have or your vaccine status. You can choose to voluntarily give that information or not, but you won’t be able to do everything you want to do if you don’t because this is a global health emergency. Basically, it’s like if you go into Starbucks without a mask and you say you’re not wearing one because of a medical condition and the barista asks what the medical condition is, that’s not a HIPAA violation. If your doctor goes into Starbucks and broadcasts your medical condition, that’s a HIPAA violation.