Here's a List of Places You Can Hire to Check COVID Vaccination Cards or Proof of Negative COVID Tests for Your Oregon Wedding

So, you want to hire someone to check proof of vaccination and/or, potentially, proof of a negative COVID test before letting people into your 2022 wedding in Oregon? YEP, I get that.

I’ve been receiving this request so much lately in my work as a wedding planner in Portland, Oregon, that I decided to do some research. Does anybody offer these services in my area and if so, what do those services cost?

I asked my community of fellow wedding vendors and a fellow Oregon-based wedding planner, Sadie McIntyre of Vareus Events, sent me this list of security providers approved to work events at the Oregon Convention Center. That seemed like a good place to start so on November 4, 2021, I called every provider on this list and asked them if they did this thing that a lot of couples want for their 2022 weddings in Oregon.

Below is what I learned.

If you’re curious why I went with private security firms, it’s because nearly all wedding vendors — and particularly any venue owner or wedding planner who may be on your team — will tell you very clearly that doing any kind of vaccine card and/or test result management is decidedly NOT their job.

This is not because I or my fellow wedding folk aren’t up to the challenge or don’t believe in what the couple is doing. Indeed, we usually believe in it VERY MUCH because these measures keep us and our families safe, too.

That said, asking a wedding venue or vendor to also be responsible for checking vaccine cards or test results and/or compiling them before the wedding is a classic case of, as the kids call it, “scope creep.” This task was likely not on the original contract and is, in nearly all cases, labor the venue or vendor will not be compensated for.

Also, let’s be honest: It’s COVID. Nobody wants to deal with it more than they have to.

As such, hiring a private security firm seems like a solid solution to me. Here’s what I learned for options in my area with questions at the end of the article that are applicable no matter where you live.

This information is current as of the publish date at the top of this article. If you have other recommendations or know of other people providing this service, please email me at elisabeth@elisabethkramer.com.

  • There were eight security providers on the Oregon Convention Center’s list. I left a voicemail for two of those providers (Coast to Coast Event Services, Inc. and Securitas Security Services USA, Inc.) and, as of this writing, have not heard back from either.

  • Only one of the six providers I spoke with said they are NOT providing this service at this time. That provider was RS Management Services/Rovers Security. I did not ask for a reason.

  • The other five providers all were either very open to providing this service or have already done it for weddings hosted in 2021. I was worried this would be a “weird” request but seriously, all five offered some variation of “Oh yeah, we’d totally do that” or “Yep, we’ve been doing that and it’s no big deal.” A couple mentioned that they’ve been noticed an uptick in interest in this kind of request (go figure).

  • I asked each provider what it would cost to hire someone to check vaccine cards and/or proof of a negative COVID test at the entrance of a wedding. Here’s what I was quoted:

    • $25 to $28 per guard per hour (NW Veterans Security Service*)

    • $28 per guard per hour (Creative Security, Inc.*)

    • $28 to $29 per guard per hour (Doing Better Protective Services US, Inc.)

    • $35 per guard per hour (Ace Event Services**)

    • Crowd Management Services (CMS) couldn’t give me an hourly quote because the person who decides that was out on a two-week vacation.

  • The catch is that all of the places require you hire them for a minimum number of hours and that minimum always exceeded what I personally think you’d need for this service (my guess: you’d need one guard for probably two hours — arrive an hour before the ceremony starts and then work for an hour at the entrance to the wedding). Here are the minimums I was quoted:

  • Those hourly minimums mean that there’s a good chance that a couple would pay for time they don’t use but also, it’s a matter of between $25 and $35 per hour so, in my book, totally worth it. You could also potentially use the guard’s extra time to, idk, stick around the entrance or maybe gently remind people to put their masks back on?

  • I was curious if the couple would need to provide anything to the security provider ahead of the wedding like a list of names. All of the five providers said no, there’s no need to provide any list, etc. since the guard is literally just checking cards or test results at the door like a bouncer would check IDs at a bar or club.

  • Notably, several of these places — Ace and Creative Security, Inc. — have been providing this same service for other large live events (think: the Oregon Symphony or plays/musicals). Those events aren’t weddings but the actual function of the job is pretty much exactly the same.

  • The overwhelming advice was that things go smoothly no matter what but that things go even more smoothly if you communicate expectations ahead of time that you’re going to be asking your guests and your vendors for their vaccine cards and/or proof of a negative test. Good thing I have these free communication templates for GUESTS and for VENDORS to help ;)

  • One security provider added that they’ve also been working events where part of their job is to remind people to put their masks back on and that has proven much harder than asking those same people for their cards or test results.

  • I did not ask any of the security providers if the person from their team who would be working the wedding would be vaccinated and/or wear a mask but if you’re looking into this kind of service, I encourage you to ask that question. Here’s how I would phrase it.

Not planning a wedding in Oregon?

I got you. Check out this list of interview questions I would ask if I was hiring someone for this role.

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*Creative Security, Inc. and NW Veterans Security Service don’t look to have business websites but the phone numbers listed on the Convention Center’s list worked for me as of November 4, 2021.

**Ace Event Service’s website wasn’t working when I tired to access it on November 5, 2021, which is why I don’t link to it in this article. That said, I did call them at 503-335-1417 on November 4, 2021, and a real person picked up the phone and talked about their services so it seems like calling is better. There’s additional contact information listed on the Convention Center’s list, too.