Brides and Grooms are starting to wonder if the coronavirus might impact their wedding planning or the actual wedding day. As wedding photographers, we’re thinking about it, too. So here is what we know and some of our thoughts on what might happen…
Before we start this post, we want to say that we don’t want to cause panic or be fearmongers!
As small business owners, we started to wonder if and how this coronavirus could impact us. Will it and could it effect our client’s weddings? Not even just the upcoming spring and summer affairs, but also future bookings. We recently read an article about wedding dress orders being impacted so we thought we’d write out a few thoughts we had on how the coronavirus could effect brides and grooms.
First off, as we mentioned, there is some supply chain disruption for wedding dresses. Many wedding dresses are manufactured in China, or at least the dress materials are from there. The fact that they were shut down for so long probably impacted some manufacturing. They are getting back up and running but we don’t know if things will get back to 100 percent soon, or even get worse. Our advice to brides would be to check with where you bought the dress and get ahead of any rush or shortage. Also do the same and check on your bridesmaid dress orders. It may not be a bad idea for even grooms to check on their tux or suit, especially if they purchased it. Rentals will most likely not be impacted.
How this virus spreads here is the big question. Wedding venues will not want to close unless forced to do so, that will most likely only happen if local schools and businesses are closed in the same area at the time. If a venue closes there is not much that can be done, other than finding another location, postponing, or another option that they offer. We imagine most weddings will go on but some venues might take more precautions than others. Double check with your venue to see what their plan may be, if any.
If it looks like your wedding is going on as planned, but the virus is still spreading, you might have some decisions to make. How many people are invited to your wedding? Are any of the guests coming from impacted areas, or other impacted countries? The biggest concern with the virus is older people, so your parents and grandparents will most likely be top of your mind. We all don’t want our older relatives and guests to catch anything. Deciding if some people should stay home or taking precautions with hand sanitizers is probably going to be up to you. It really depends on where and when your wedding is, and the current situation at that time.
We hope that nobody has to wear masks at the wedding, like in the Philippines, but it could happen to some couples around the country.
Also, consider if you are ordering items or decorations from websites like Oriental Trading, or other similar places. They might have delays on shipping, so it might be worth it to check other sources who are domestic or local, and can provide what you need.
Realistically, it’s probably a good idea not to panic but it may be worth having a conversation with your partner about your plans, especially if your wedding is coming up soon. Luckily we have 3 months here in Boston until most weddings really kick off, hopefully that is enough time for the coronavirus to peak and then go away.
