As the 2021 Wedding season comes to a close we want to congratulate all of the couples that got married and all of the vendors who made it through this year. With ever changing gathering restrictions, we had no idea what to expect with the remainder of the season. Vendors rallied, couples became extremely flexible, venues adapted and guests waited… it was hectic and frustrating at times but in the end what was to be, was to be.

Now as we near the end of the year we are still facing future unknowns in the Wedding & Event industry, especially when it comes to guests being vaccinated, but unlike in 2020, we now know that although changes may have to be made the show can actually go on.

“There will be an estimated 2.5 million weddings in 2022, which is the most the U.S. has seen since 1984, according to The Wedding Report, a market research firm.” (Pandey, 2021)

Since the onset of the pandemic there have been countless couples who were forced to postpone their weddings and now we have newly engaged couples who are just starting their wedding planning journey. As we face a new normal we are finding that the Wedding Industry is being flooded with inquiries and although a boom in business sounds great for venues and vendors, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes:

• We are currently facing a huge staffing shortage in Ontario and venues are amongst those being hit hardest by this reality. “Another apparent cause of the dearth of workers is a structural shift in the labour market. Repeated, prolonged shutdowns, for example, caused many experienced workers in the food-service industry to seek employment in other sectors, Restaurants Canada has previously told Global News.” (Ericaalini, 2021)

• Saturdays & Sundays have traditionally been what most would consider the only days to get married, but there has been a huge spike in weekday bookings because it is simply not possible for many to get married in the season that they want on a weekend. Luckily, weekday weddings normally come with a bit of a financial savings and it means that it’s more likely that your preferred vendors are available.

• Vendors are burnt out. Theres no other way to put it, they are overwhelmed and struggling to keep up with all of the emails, phone calls and dm’s that are steadily coming in. Have patience and most importantly be kind. 

• There’s a global floral shortage! I don’t think most people saw this coming (florists included) but farms simply cannot keep up with current demand, especially when it comes to the most popular wedding flowers+ color varieties- meaning prices have hiked. Not only are certain flowers hard to come by but so are floral supplies. Import fees are at an all time high and suppliers are not willing to pay them because the shipping is so astronomical.

The truth is, we are all in uncharted territory. The way we once structured wedding planning is no longer applicable, and it is vital that couples and vendors stay up to date on current policies, pandemic news and social media platforms. What’s going on is that everything has changed and is still changing. If you plan on getting married in 2022 or 2023 then the time to book is now.

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Pandey, E. (2021, August 6). 2022 will see the most weddings since 1984. Yahoo! News. Retrieved October 4, 2021, from https://news.yahoo.com/2022-see-most-weddings-since-100040673.html. 

Ericaalini. (2021, September 3). There are plenty of jobs out there. why aren’t Canadians filling them? Global News. Retrieved October 4, 2021, from https://globalnews.ca/news/8158090/canada-job-shortage-election/.