2020 has certainly thrown a spanner in the works of the wedding world. Business here is far from being as usual. The events industry has been paused and that’s given us an unplanned rest and some challenges, too.
The wedding season is currently on hold and brides and grooms across the country are waiting (as we are) for news on when small events and indeed larger gatherings can take place again.
Hoping to get married in 2020? Here are some plans and thoughts to put in place now to help you steer through these rocky waters…
You can’t hurry love… but you can’t stop it either
Firstly, whatever happens in the world, love is truly a powerful force and amongst all the doom and gloom on the news, there are some truly wonderful things happening. If you were planning on getting married this year, then a global lockdown has nothing on the love you have for your partner.
We’ve seen many stories of distant love kept alive online, romance blossoming via a distance, and all in all, evidence that once again love will conquer all.
Far-fetched? Not at all, and the reason we mention it is simple: if you’re planning to get married, then you will. Time makes the heart grow stronger, after all! And if you can get through lockdown together you can get through anything!
When is your 2020 wedding?
This is the big question though: When are you planning on getting married? With this ever-changing situation, the future of the UK events and gatherings in constant flux and ‘the date’ could well affect the way you approach this challenge.
And it is a challenge. This will pass and you will get married!
The simple way to view this is:
- June – unlikely
- July/August – we think this is more likely – and we’re optimistic!
- September-December – far more likely to be back to some kind of normal
That said, predicting this isn’t something we’re qualified to do, it’s just some food for thought for now…
Is your wedding planned for June?
If you’re planning on getting married in June this year then you’ve most likely already postponed your wedding by now.
The approach (in almost all countries) to tackle the infamous ‘curve’ of infections has been to put social distancing in place. A wedding is a public gathering of people from all over the UK (and often the wider world) and that’s clearly not in line with the current Government directive. This is changing fairly quickly, and the UK population is certainly now out and about a lot more though, so take some positivity from that if you can.
Is your wedding planned for September or October?
If you’re planning for a late summer/autumn wedding, then you might be OK. There’s a lot of evidence to suggest that the lockdown will be relaxed a lot more by then and that we’ll be working our way back to normal, with maybe some sensible measures in place for those who are vulnerable or have pre-existing medical conditions.
With countries around the world ahead of the UK showing some signs of opening back up, this does give us hope that the late summer/early autumn wedding season will happen.
Again, we’re only speculating here and relaying what we’re hearing in the events industry. Nothing is certain, as we’re sure you’re aware!
If you’re planning on postponing your wedding then a winter wedding might be the best approach, or maybe you’ll choose to move your wedding to 2021 instead.
Whatever you plan on doing, you’ll need to get your wedding plan and event planning checklist out and start having those conversations with your wedding suppliers if you haven’t already. We’re sure they’ll be watching the news as much as the rest of us!
Check with your venue
Whether you're having an indoor or outdoor wedding, the big part of your wedding is nearly always the wedding venue. Get in contact with them and find out what they’re advising to do. If they’re not going to open, then it matters little what else you think or plan.
Some venues we’re speaking to have different opinions to others. We’re all deciphering the regular updates from the Government and applying it to our unique situations and businesses.
Speaking to your venue and event hire suppliers to see what they’re planning to do is advised.
Check with your suppliers
We can’t speak for all suppliers, but you’ll probably find that they’ll be happy to hear from you as we are. Like many other events and wedding equipment hire companies, it’s a funny time for us and one we’ll never forget, but like you, we’re always happy to chat and discuss our thoughts and feelings at this time. Call them up, discuss what you’re planning to do, and keep them in the loop.
As the days go by, postponing events is becoming more and more then norm so start planning your postponement soon if you haven’t already. All suppliers are now trying to fit an entire 12 months of events into 7,8, or 9 months.
Wedding insurance
There was a lot of talk about insurance for holidays in the early days of the lockdown and of course if you have insurance for any type of purchase then you know that the small print is an area of much contention.
The government did step in in the case of travel insurance and for events and you can find more about the situation with your insurance here. We recommend that you check with your insurer if you’re covered for your event hire, honeymoon, or other areas of your wedding where you’ve had to pay a non-refundable deposit.
Many of the large hotel chains like Hilton are waivering cancellation fees and refunding bookings so it pays to check the updated list here.
Not all insurance is created equal so do check what you’re covered for as it’s not unheard of for ‘Acts of God’ and unprecedented pandemics to be excluded from insurance.
Wedding supply chain
Something we’re all now very aware of is the global supply chain (think toilet rolls and hand sanitiser). Even Amazon struggled at some points, and although the supermarkets struggled for a while, it seems to be getting better now.
That said, your wedding supplies might come from further afield and some items may be manufactured in countries in the far east. At this moment in time, supplies look to be getting to the UK as expected although there was a bump in the road of supply back in February due to the lockdown in many parts of China.
We have a brief look around the main suppliers for the UK and it seems to look fairly positive but do check with your wedding dress supplier as almost 80% of wedding dresses globally are produced in one southeastern Chinese city according to Retail Brew.
Planning a winter wedding?
If you’re planning to get married in the winter it’s more likely that things will be back to ‘normal’… or at least back to that new normal that the media keep talking about.
There are some real advantages to a winter wedding:
- Winter weddings can look visually stunning
- Warmer drinks suit winter weddings
- A winter wedding encourages different menus
- You may get cheaper deals
We’ve written in-depth about winter weddings here if you want to know why we feel this is potentially a great option for 2020, 2021, and beyond…
It’s a tricky time but we’re confident that we’ll see the other side of all this.
It’s going to be a very busy autumn/winter for us all, we think!
If you’re planning your wedding in 2020 or 2021 then we’re here to help.
We know you’ll get married eventually. You can’t get in the way of true love and a wedding usually happens against some odds, if not all!
There are so many classic love stories where this happens and we’re certain you’ll say “I do” sooner than you think. It might seem a little strange right now, but you’ll get there, some day, and we’d love to help make it special for you.
We’ve been in the events and wedding equipment hire trade for 20 years, so we’ve seen a lot of change and challenges. This one will certainly go down as a big one, but not one that will halt the wedding industry.
We remain optimistic, and we hope you do too.
If we can help, please do contact us.