How local businesses are coping with canceled weddings

Meibers

Steve and Kate Colangelo had been looking forward to getting married on April 25 before the coronavirus pandemic took hold of the Miami Valley.

Couples all over the coun- try are now canceling their weddings and receptions because of the coronavirus.

After couples have “come to terms” with the fact that they can’t do the wedding on the day they wanted and that they’re going to have to reschedule, then they must start to reschedule all the things that go into having a wedding, said Lisa Beam, general manager of the Steam Plant, a popular downtown wedding venue.

The Colangelos had planned to hold their wedding at the UD Marriott. The hotel and most other busi- nesses they had planned to use in April were accommodating when they called to cancel their booking. Steve Colangelo said the only issues they had were with their D J, who wanted to be paid in full if the couple couldn’t reschedule.

Steve Colangelo is in the Air Force and has orders to move to a base in Florida in July, so the couple doesn’t know if they can get mar- ried here in Dayton.

“Every other company has been completely understanding — some of them didn’t even keep our deposit,” Colangelo said.

Beam said the Steam Plant had weddings scheduled every Saturday and most Fridays in March and April that they had to reschedule. The Steam Plant, at 617 E. Third St. in Dayton, has rescheduled all those weddings at no charge.

“We’re trying to be as sensitive as we can,” Beam said. “Especially with brides, a lot of them have been planning this day for a year or longer, and we know it’s stressful.”

Beam said the Steam Plant aso has been calling some of the couples who scheduled weddings in early May to prepare them for the possible need to move things around if Gov. Mike DeWine’s order stays in place past April 6.

“It’s not just the venue, though, it’s a lot of other vendors, too,” Beam said.

After securing a venue for their new wedding day, couples then have to worry about D Js, florists, photog- raphers and a host of other vendors to reschedule.

Shawn Huey, the owner of Legacy Event Group, said many of the D Js who work for his company have had to push weddings back past May.

Huey said he is a former police officer and understands that a lot of peo- ple in the Miami Valley are tied to the Air Force and may have to move, so even before the coronavirus his company has tried to be as flexible as possible when rescheduling events. Huey said couples who cancel with his company typically pay only the reservation payment.

“We try to be very sympathetic to those things you can’t change,” said Huey, who has had to lay off several D Js in his company during the outbreak.

Contact this reporter at 937225-0719 or email Bonnie. Meibers@coxinc.com.