Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
AS STIMULUS EXPIRES, COUPLE GETS CREATIVE
Their wedding photography business has stalled with the pandemic, so they adapted
COATESVILLE » Grace and Matt Rauppius have been in the wedding business for the past 10 years, and when the coronavirus crisis hit earlier this year, their business stalled out. In a typical year, they work up to 70 weddings. So far this year, they’ve worked only three, with none on the horizon.
And if Congress fails to replace the expiring $600 per week federal hike in unemployment benefits that expires Friday, the couple — like many in Chester County and across the nation — will need to dip into their depleted savings.
“The unemployment increase has been absolutely huge,” said
Grace. “When that extra $600 ends, I don’t know what we will do. We’ve already used up a lot of our savings.”
Instead of allowing the pandemic to take them down a path of financial ruin, they decided to change their business model at Right Start Photography, realizing that the wedding business will not be the same for quite some time. They put $75,000 into converting their business into hospitality and catering.
They purchased about 1,800 square feet of the 60,000 square foot Midway Arts Building in Coatesville, formerly the Lipkins building, and will use it to host small, intimate weddings. Under current CDC guidelines, they can accommodate 25 people.
“I just don’t see big weddings anytime in the near future,’ Grace said. “I can’t imagine big weddings going back to the way they were. We created this venue where couples will spend wedding money on a luxury experience. We provide them with a meal, space and photography. We are catering to the significantly increased population looking to have a small intimate event. People now are goggling micro-weddings, intimate weddings and elopement weddings more than they ever have.”
For the couple, the decision is a matter of survival.
“We sympathize with so many of our small business peers, and we believe the only way to survive is to pivot and serve the clients you have in a new way,” Grace said. “We believe we will feel the effects of Corona in the wedding industry for years to come, including a shift in priority when it comes to budgeting and size of weddings.”
Until the pandemic, the couple worked big weddings, usually 250 people or more. Week after week, they received postponement or cancellation calls. Many said they would have smaller weddings.
“We had a lot of couples realize the true value of their wedding,” Grace said. “When you have to cut your guest list down to 25, you start to realize who the most important people in your life really are. Do you really need your uncles’ friend plus one at your wedding anyway?”
The couple is expecting to open Aug. 1, with an open house planned Sept. 21. So far, it seems their transition is working. They have 50 weddings already booked for next year. Typically at this point in the year, they only have 30 or so. And they are booking without charging extra fees that many venues and photographers are demanding due to the pandemic.
“I know other (wedding venues and photographers) are charging a fee to take a prime date for 2021, but for us, it’s not the couple’s fault this is happening. I just can imagine charging them even more for something out of their control.”
To help get them started, the coronavirus small business grants have been a godsend, the couple said. And they decided to located in a part of the county that is dedicated to turning its fortunes around.
“Coatesville is revitalizing and we are excited to be a part of it,” Grace said. “We can’t want to see what this looks like in five to 10 years.”