Getting married in 2020 or 2021? Black Cat looks at who,why and what are going to be affected by postponed weddings.

Posted on: 09/04/2020

The predictable email came through. "I`m afraid we are going to have to put a hold on the treasure hunt. We are putting our wedding back until 2021."
I felt sorry for the affected couple as I sadly clicked onto my bookings diary and changed the year. From my brief exchanges of emails with them I knew  they would bounce back though and be ready to go again in 2021.
It was at this point that I began to think about how one changed wedding actually impacts a whole range of connected industries and how they are able to adapt to the current circumstances until things improve.


1. Stationery: The invites may need to be re-done next year and in the meantime I sense that producers of this type of thing have a wide range of products that will be used in or out of lockdown.

2. Church/ceremony venue...the Vicar!: With Easter just around the corner and the Archbishop of Canterbury urging people to stay at home this would appear to be a massive change to normal routine. Financially you suspect that the Church is pretty well covered, but you get visions of vicars self isolating , practicing new sermons and wedding vow introductions in front of pets,flowers and the rest of their gardens.

3. Wedding Dress (and wedding clothes) shops: This could go either way, but you would hope that a lot of couples had committed to what they were going to wear before everything changed. However, those initially booking later in the year may have had second thoughts and look to delay. Specific wedding attire shops may be getting a little nervous in that instance. Shops with broader clothes ranges will be hoping to surge back into business and use on-line sales to offset any possible shortfall.

4. Rings: I  think that jewellers are too smart to be caught out in this downturn. They have such a wide range of items for sale and maybe couples will be encouraged to spread the cost of paying for their rings over a longer period.

5. Entertainment: There are some enterprising bands who have set up virtual concerts, but generally this could be a quiet period until the go ahead is given for people to gather again.
Stag/Hen party- These are just a no at the moment and it`s a case of keeping in touch with associated companies that help to provide the whole package. This is not the ideal time to have a lockdown though.

6. Reception venue: Similar to entertainment, owners of venues will recover, but by no means ideal to be losing bookings at a traditionally busy time.

7. Florists: I do feel sorry for florists, especially self employed ones. Not really much they can do about cancellations this year, but their on-line presence can be strong and concentrate on making 2021 an excellent one. 

8. Honeymoon- associated industries. The plight of airlines have been well documented, whilst hotels may be similarly affected. Some hotels in England have enterprisingly opened up their doors as  respite areas for NHS staff and that show of goodwill will eventually pay dividends.

9. Gifts: May have been purchased already. Alternatively, they can be so wide ranging that I would expect the impact to be covered across different suppliers.