Key Takeaways:
- After a pandemic hiatus, brides-to-be flocked to the RBC Convention Centre on Sunday for the return of the Wonderful Wedding Show.
- Many would-be brides and grooms chose to postpone their weddings rather than deal with the pandemic’s rapidly changing health restrictions.
The pandemic forced many brides and grooms to postpone their vows due to capacity restrictions, face masks, and early last calls, but now the hard-hit wedding industry is getting a break with the easing of health restrictions.
On Sunday, brides-to-be flocked to the RBC Convention Centre to return to the Wonderful Wedding Show after a pandemic hiatus.
“Our last show was January 2020, but we had to cancel the ’21 show,” stated Sherri Rheubottom, the event’s show manager. “Then we delayed the January 2022 show to March now, and also we’re so happy, and all our vendors are so happy.”
Many brides and grooms-to-be chose to postpone their weddings rather than deal with rapidly changing health restrictions due to the pandemic.
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“The wedding industry took the brunt of the damage,” Rheubottom said. “They rely on every single event, and when that happened, weddings were canceled or postponed in large numbers.”
According to Rheubottom, attendance at Sunday’s event was comparable to pre-pandemic levels, indicating that the wedding industry may be on the mend.
Jasmin Wolf, as well as her fiancé Simon Mitchell, were in attendance. To avoid any potential restrictions, the couple chose to maintain to hold their 100-person wedding in 2023.
“With how much individuals have had to reschedule and also flip around and make adjustments, we are wishing to not have to do that,” Wolf said. “That kind of played a role in choosing to move into 2023 rather than 2022.”
Since many couples have postponed their weddings, related businesses such as wedding planners are now receiving calls from couples who want to make up for the lost time.
“We’ve been getting calls since January,” Emma Singh, a wedding planner at Emma Singh Creative, said. “We anticipate it to get even busier with the loosening of the restrictions as well as now the restriction on the mask leaving on March 15th here in Winnipeg.”
For example, the Inn at the Forks has a similar story to tell.
The hotel claims that interest has risen dramatically in the last 6 months, with nonstop inquiries in the last two, providing an important opportunity to make up for lost business during the restrictions.
“They’ve been tough on the business, and, unfortunately, individuals had these plans that they weren’t able to carry out,” Mike McLean, the hotel’s executive sales manager, said.
Southwood Golf and Country Club has also reported an uptick in phone calls.
“Weddings are certainly filling up. There are only a few dates left, especially for next year, “Bridgette Scott, a representative for Southwood at the wedding show, agreed.
For both couples and businesses, easing restrictions is an exciting opportunity.
“Because they’ve had so many constraints,” Wolf explained, “they’re even more flexible with what we’re looking at and what we need as a couple for our wedding.”
Source: Global News
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