In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the industry that turns the fairytale wedding dreams into booked realities. Many couples, due to stay-at-home orders and executive orders limiting gatherings, had been forced to postpone or cancel their wedding celebrations. Read on below as our very own Jeff Greene discusses how COVID-19 will change the future of weddings.
Future of Weddings
Smaller weddings are here to stay for a while. It will increase eventually, but right now we will be seeing weddings that are 15-30% of their original size. What this does is present new options on wedding plans, Big banquet, fancy ballrooms, luxury hotels – these all have a high rental rate of at least $20k-$30k for just the venue fee for a full wedding day. Now, couples can take advantage of smaller weddings and they can afford certain luxury accommodations because their guest count is lower. Everything is secondary to beautiful photos. We will see couples book a small reception at those luxury hotels or hotel restaurants granting them access so they can easily take their photos on-site at those beautiful properties. This will all be cheaper than renting a venue for 150-200 for a full wedding day. We are also seeing an increase in afternoon functions. As more venues open in the marketplace, there are so many more choices for couples to choose from. In Florida specifically, we are seeing new high rises and condos are growing in South Florida – all with event spaces – in addition to new venues popping up in the Redlands that are popular for farm to table themed celebrations. Smaller weddings will be active for a while because brides can book an experience for 25-30 people at a luxury venue with magnificent view (and the photos that can be taken there) that they wouldn’t have been able to afford before.
Venue Costs
The cost of everything has gone up. So naturally, so have venue costs. You have to now consider venues are offering sanitizing stations/materials and additional staffing – which both increase costs. Costs are increasing 20-30%. While this is a good time to travel, as travel prices remain low, prices for venues and catering will rise naturally due to the rising costs of food and fuel. Fuel alone has a higher impact on everything, which will cause additional wedding services prices to rise. The cost of delivery, the cost of catering and the cost of staffing will rise. While other industries can afford to keep the same price, with food and personal services you still have to pay for personnel as well. Think about the fact there are no buffets at the moment – avoiding guests touching food and serviceware. This means caterers need additional staff to serve guests.
Virtual Components
We will continue to see live streaming aspects becoming a part of every event. Even if you want a smaller wedding beyond COVID-19, you can include more guests at your celebration with a livestream. Another popular option is hybrid streaming – where wedding guests can interact with other guests who are not there physically. Think of this as an enhanced live Zoom or FaceTime experience. We’ve actually done quite a bit of these streamings for mitzvahs, weddings and virtual graduation ceremonies. Although we utilize familiar technology like Zoom, YouTube Live and Facebook Live that we all have access to, it’s important for couples to work with the right people who have experience providing the additional equipment technology and backups that will enhance the experience beyond what these familiar technologies typically offer. We will see virtual aspects rise beyond COVID-19 as this helps elderly, military or pregnant guests still attend if they otherwise couldn’t.
The Future of Events
No matter where we are with regulations, a sizable percentage of people will still be wearing masks for some time. People will still be careful at least for the next year, maybe even two. Events will be smaller because there are underlying things we just don’t know enough about. Different variants, additional waves, etc… There are still a lot of unknowns that will affect our industry. We won’t be seeing corporate events for a year, at least anything large. It takes at least one year to plan and organize a large corporate event or convention, so it will take 1-2 years for those to come back. There are a lot of people that have left the industry during this time simply because they couldn’t sustain their businesses. What that means is the cost of talent and services will also go up. Vendors can enter bidding wars and charge more simply because there are less choices available. Already national groups are predicting that the costs of services are going to rise 30% or more – especially after years of event service rates remaining flat.
Buyer Beware
During this free time, a lot of people have decided to become a DJ, wedding planner, photographer, etc… My advice is that clients strongly need to consider business experience when booking vendors. What COVID-19 has taught us is that real companies have the ability to stay the course and remain in business during these tough times. I suggest working with seasoned businesses rather than independents who have recently jumped into the marketplace. We’ve seen many cases where an independent will leave brides hanging on their wedding day, causing unneeded change and stress. So work with a business that is responsible for its staff and will stand behind the company’s promise to deliver.
We are wishing our clients a summer of love! 84 West Events is here to make your wedding day dreams come true regardless of how soon your plans are for. Call 84 West Events today at 954-236-9000 or drop us an email at Celebrate@84WestEvents.com to get started today!
