We do – but we can’t. COVID-19 has changed everything about weddings

• The number of Erie-area weddings has decreased and average lead time has expanded during the pandemic
• Many weddings have been scaled down with fewer guests and more outdoor venues booked

Couples everywhere are doing what they can to host their nuptials despite pandemic realities. But they’re having to scale back, postpone, be flexible and most of all – be patient. 

“I have a client who’s a dear lady,” said florist Michael Bruce, of Haddon Township, New Jersey. “She’s had to postpone three times.”

Bruce said planners and couples are all firing at a moving target, and he isn’t hanging his hat on “normalcy” coming back any time soon.  

“I’m anticipating not even a year from now just to be honest,” Bruce said. 

“(The number of weddings has) most definitely declined,” said Erie photographer Willie Hardy. “A lot of venues are not really having a lot of events during COVID or have cut the capacity on how many they could have in the building. The social distancing part put a chill on it.”

Hardy said he usually does a dozen weddings a year and has only done one since the pandemic began in March 2020. 

Event planner Josh Bennett, of Lake Erie Events, said he’s seen a dramatic change in the wedding environment

“Before COVID, the average lead time for a wedding was one to one and one-half years,” Bennett said. “Now it’s two years, and we’re seeing people saying 2023 and we’re planning out.

“Others are downsizing and canceling altogether and everything in between,” Bennett said.

More:Weddings focus more on love, relationships amid pandemic challenges

The date, of course, is the most important part of planning a wedding. Everything – the venue, the guest list, the planners, the food, the flowers and everything else – hinges on that one piece of information, and with COVID-19 restrictions, no one knows where to start.

“People are having to readjust their whole idea of what it would be like,” said Erie event planner Angela McNair. “I’ve had clients that ended up pushing it back, and even a couple of times, because they’re so nervous.

“Some people have big families, and wanted to have big huge weddings, but they’ve had to scale them down, like they want 150 and ended up with 50.”

More:Erie region couples marry despite COVID restrictions

McNair said options include waiting until the weather is nice enough to have weddings outside, but that can be dicey, too. 

“I had another postponed to June for social distancing to be outdoors,” McNair said. “But others who have had to change the number of people in their wedding party. And they felt terrible that they couldn’t invite everyone they wanted to.

“Some people are doing the courthouse wedding and waiting to do the reception.”

Rules are rules

McNair does not and will not let families shirk the guidelines.

“I put out protective gear, hand sanitizer everywhere, required masks and I leave a lot of cleaning supplies out for people,” McNair said. “I make sure. Sometimes I have to remind the hosts to keep up with their requirements while they’re safe.

“I have to do more monitoring because all of these requirements fall to me. … I do it because I know it needs to be done – I don’t want to put myself or my family at risk.

“This is my second business,” she said. “I don’t want this to interfere with home life. I’m very careful that seating is done a certain way.”

Sometimes the decisions brides are making are painful, but necessary in the age of COVID.

“All of my brides made the decision themselves to postpone their weddings to protect themselves and their loved ones,” said Bjorn, of Bjorn VW Events in New York City. “It was a difficult decision to make, but it was a selfless and necessary one, which I applaud them for.

jgeisler@timesnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @ETNgeisler.

Top health precautions made to ceremony and/or reception due to COVID-19:

• Provided hand sanitizer

• Tables properly distanced

• Encouraged social distancing

• Staff required to wear masks

• Offered masks to guests

• Roughly six in 10 couples held their ceremony and reception outdoors 

Source: The Knot’s 2020 Real Weddings survey

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