Weddings postponed by COVID stress couples and local businesses
Getting married is one of life’s most memorable — and emotional — milestones.
But with tight restrictions on gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, couples throughout Windsor and Essex County who had scheduled their weddings for this spring or summer have had little choice but to postpone their big day.
“Weddings are an extremely emotional time for anyone,” said Nancy Campana, owner of Nouveau Event Planning and organizer of the annual Wedding Extravaganza show. “When you have such a landmark event and have to move it, then the unknown weighs heavy on everyone’s mind.
“Some couples may have moved everything to October and then you are wondering: ‘Am I going to have to be doing that again?’”
So far, there has been a mix of decisions by local couples who had their wedding planned for this spring, she said.
“You have proactive couples who are taking their 2020 wedding and just cancelled it until next year,” Campana said. “Others have postponed from spring until this fall. Then there is a third group who have a July or August wedding planned, still hoping it can happen. They are starting to panic right now.”
For most weddings, the fate rests on restrictions on the size of allowed gatherings in the weeks and months ahead, she said. If it remains 50 or lower, then couples will be forced to reconsider the size of their wedding.
“What you are seeing now is what we are calling micro weddings and at some point couples will be looking at that option,” Campana said.
One banquet centre — Water’s Edge Event Centre in the 2800 block of Riverside Drive East — announced Thursday it has created a new program to support micro wedding events of 20 people or less due to social distancing restrictions. Event centre owner Larry Horwitz said given how roughly 25 events have been cancelled at his centre due to the pandemic, his business had to quickly adapt. “We are not sitting idle,” he said. “We are going to micro weddings in the short term and it could be something we do for the long term. It was a trend in Europe for awhile, so we are moving quickly to have that option ready to go.”
Micro weddings at Water’s Edge will involve everything a normal wedding and reception has, such as walking down the aisle, choosing whether you want a buffet or sit-down meal, a disc jockey or not, with costs based on those options.
“Couples can still enjoy the formality of a ceremony with their relatives and some friends,” said Horwitz, who operates the centre with his wife Dana. “We have tried to come up with ideas that are not only beneficial for now, but into the future. Micro weddings may turn into something long term.”
Another issue facing couples is being unable to obtain a marriage licence with municipal buildings closed to the public due to the virus. Some couples may choose to stage a celebration or wedding event, but still won’t be legally married until they obtain a licence.
Dozens of local businesses that serve weddings are also suffering greatly, from florists, wineries, caterers, restaurants and banquet halls to event planners such as Campana herself, she said.
And the future may not be much better for those businesses if people move to small-size weddings for the foreseeable future with 50 guests or fewer instead of a few hundred. “This really will have an impact on our local economy,” Campana said.
Campana has already made moves to adjust her business by offering online event planning or coaching for couples or any large groups, including how to postpone or reschedule events.