By: Ireland Lee

Wedding season has officially returned! The wedding industry took a halt when COVID-19 boomed out of nowhere in the beginning of 2020. Many couples had to put their wedding on the back burner hoping Coronavirus would soon pass. Unfortunately, it has taken longer than expected, and several have had to reschedule their wedding multiple times.

This summer, the wedding industry is expected to experience a rapid increase. There are couples that had to push back their original dates because they already had their weddings set for 2021 (many did not get their deposits back from scheduling before COVID-19) and those that got engaged during the pandemic and want to go ahead and get married, the industry is having to oblige everyone that falls under that sector. Not to mention incorporating those that got married during the pandemic but didn’t get a chance to have a ceremony or reception. So the question is, how is this going to affect businesses, such as venues and caterers?

It appears that the average spending cost has decreased from $28,000 to $19,000 because of the conditions. Fewer guests mean less spending on a bar and food, as well as wedding favors, table decor, being able to decrease the venue size, etc. It will be a lively time for wedding venues, photographers/videographers, caterers, and everyone else in the industry.

In addition to the overwhelming amount of business, many venues are having to accommodate new rules and regulations that they've never had to do before. Some of which are required while others depend on the bride and groom’s preferences. Certain couples are requiring their guests' temperatures to be taken upon arrival, while others are going to the extent of requiring their guests to have received the COVID vaccine in order to come – which means there’s a good chance that someone within the wedding business will in fact be required to have the vaccine to work. However, most are just wanting their guests to forget everything negative happening in the world for a few hours. That being said, they are occupying to full occupancy and going back to the way things were pre-pandemic. As a result, many brides and grooms, and wedding planners if they’re using one, are having a tremendously difficult time finding venues that are still available because they are so high in demand at the moment.

Many couples are choosing to forgo the traditional wedding catering companies for something more simple, cheaper, and that reflects them more. For example, tons of people are placing orders through Chick Fil A Catering, Chipotle Catering, and Olive Garden Catering, among many others. Platforms including EZ Cater have even come out of the woodworks to make ordering from places for catering to larger groups easier (i.e. corporate lunches and weddings). A few couples may even have their family members prepare a buffet for their reception to save a little extra money, especially if they don’t have to make as much food. If you’re someone that is doing this, here is a preparing Shopping List and a Serving Shopping list to check off everything you might need.