COVID-19 postponed their wedding, and theirs ... and theirs. How are vendors coping?
Jill Phillips and her partner, Bethany McDonald, have already rescheduled 30 weddings across March, April and May.
This coming off of the three slowest months of the year for the full-time DJ partners at All the Right Grooves. “Our entire income is gone for the next two and a half months, minimum,” Phillips said.
Photographers Kristen and Rob Tesar of Rob + Kristen Photography got to the point where they would wake up each morning dreading about having to open their email or listen to voicemails.
The cancellation messages were overwhelming. “This has been a rough time for us in terms of our mental health more than anything. The most stressful part is trying to find the balance between being fair to our clients while also making sure our business can financially survive in the months ahead,” said Kristen Tesar.
And the stories don’t stop there. For Poprock Photography owner Tonya Price, business is non-existent. “Usually I’m booking jobs months ahead, but my phone is radio silent. I’m hoping that my job will go back to normal, but I really don’t see how. Photography is a luxury when you are trying to scrape money together to pay your bills and employees,” Price said.
Across the wedding industry, small businesses from florists and photographers to DJs and wedding planners are going from peak wedding (and earning) season to virtually nothing. COVID-19-related restrictions and closures have stopped brides and grooms in their tracks and brought spring wedding season to a halt.
Even if they wanted to help couples choosing to move forward during this time, they can’t. Karisa Pennel at boutique florist Nectar had one couple decide to transition to a backyard wedding just after the shelter-in-place order went into effect. “We aren’t considered essential, so we couldn’t provide for them,” she said.
Postponed events
Many couples have already chosen to postpone their wedding dates, giving these vendors hope of a new busy season for late 2020.
“Fall and winter dates are booking up faster than normal. Halloween, which is traditionally not a popular wedding date, is all of the sudden going quickly, as is Sept. 11, another date couples tend to avoid,” said Samie Roberts, the owner of wedding planning site Bustld. “I think you’ll see couples start to get creative and be flexible with Thursday, Friday and Sunday weddings, and that guests will be more accommodating to these non-traditional wedding dates after what we’ve all gone through. “
Another route couples are taking, according to photographer Samantha Laffoon, is having a small ceremony now and planning a larger party for a later date. Price has also seen the trend. “I had one New Jersey couple booked for March 21 just waiting it out. When the governor made the decision to prohibit large gatherings, they finally had to cancel and were devastated. They ended up getting married with four friends in the middle of the woods. Happy ending, and they’re still planning a party this year,” Price said.
So how are these small businesses getting through this trying time? DJ Krazy T, Toby Kirkwood, who also DJs for the Hornets, has had a few private virtual birthday party requests, but has yet to be asked to host a virtual wedding. Fellow DJ Brandon Alley of Bunn DJ has used the extra time to work on marketing and social media, as well as training new DJs and making new playlists.
Long-term impact
Pennel is looking toward the future impact of COVID-19 on growers. She has spent time attending webinars by wholesalers and doing research on the long-term impact of the virus on the floral industry. “Depending on product availability when farms are able to harvest, sell and ship again, I think our creative forces will be in full effect when the new dates arrive for these couples. We’re working on rescheduling agreements/policies and will ask for some creative liberties to get the same look for fall weddings that we would normally have seen in the spring/summer season. The good news is that as creatives, we love a good challenge, and as long as we have some flexibility on flower varieties, I feel sure we can still make our clients happy with their event florals.”
Phillips and McDonald are having FaceTime and Skype meetings with prospective clients and have had current clients step up to make things a little easier. “We had one couple who rescheduled for later this year offer to pay us the full amount on their original wedding date in May, which would be extremely helpful right now. We’re hoping that comes to fruition.”
Above all, these small wedding businesses want clients to know that they are living through this with them and are willing to be creative and flexible to make their special day perfect when the time comes. “Above all, we just want our clients to know that we will get through this together and we will do everything possible to make sure they still have an amazing DJ, whatever their wedding date ends up being,” Alley said.
Looking forward
In addition to thoughtful clients, these small businesses are looking out for one another. Roberts and her husband Ryan had been planning to launch a line of married, engaged and shop local merchandise as part of their wedding planning business Bustld, for months. They made a decision to move forward with launch in late March and announced that they would give 100% of the profits back to small wedding businesses. Applications for businesses in need will be open soon.
Roberts also had a word of encouragement for all of the stressed out brides and grooms out there. While it wasn’t on the scale of a global pandemic, her perfect wedding day had its own wrench thrown in it. “I have a very vivid memory of sitting in a Panera with my grandmother and saying I’m a wedding planner, everything is going to be perfect … and then Hurricane Irene rolled through. It wasn’t the day that we planned, it wasn’t perfect, not everybody made it, but it was still the best day I could have ever imagined. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.”
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 1:00 PM.
