CARRIE RENEAU SPIVEY
The newly-wedded Gonzalez's celebrate their big day at Hidden Pines Chapel.
When Ashlee Steel got engaged in January of 2019, a pandemic was the furthest thing from her mind. Like every bride-to-be, she began to scout out her venue and picked out her dress, preparing for her wedding.
As the first week in March got underway, Ashlee and her fiance began to sample their food and met with caterers. But soon, everything was put on hold.
“At first, I think we were kind of like everyone else in this area, thinking ‘OK, a couple of weeks [and then] we’ll be okay,’” Ashlee says. “As Governor Abbott kept extending the shutdown orders, we started getting concerned.”
The wedding industry was among the first things to be impacted by the pandemic. Weddings were up in the air as brides-to-be had to modify or postpone their celebrations and vendors were left in limbo.
But despite the hardships COVID-19 brought, vendors, brides-to-be and families adapted their visions, donned their masks and still managed to celebrate their loved ones through a once-in-a-lifetime ordeal.
Wedding Industry Woes
Besides brides, vendors were some of the first to feel the pandemic’s effects on the wedding industry. For Kelly Medanich of Pink Champagne Designs, she immediately turned to helping clients who’d already sent out their invitations.
“Instead of working mostly on day-of stationery for spring weddings during that time, we focused on change announcements and invitation reprints,” Kelly says.
In the industry for eight years, Kelly typically serves 60 to 80 clients in a non-pandemic year.
“Surprisingly, the fall was a busier wedding season for us than normal,” Kelly says. “This is because on top of [the] normal fall season, many of our spring clients postponed to the fall.”
Wedding planner Hunter Orcutt, who started her business four years ago, is still learning what the post-pandemic wedding industry looks like.
“We are currently working on more elopements and home weddings than we ever thought we would,” Hunter says. “Fortunately, most of our weddings and events have been rescheduled or postponed, not cancelled. The most detrimental thing for a small business is cancellations, and we are thankful for all of our clients working together to keep moving forward.”
For wedding photographer Carrie Spivey, who’s worked in the wedding industry for almost 10 years, she says she’s seen about a 75% decrease in business due to the pandemic.
“I also do real estate photography and that has picked up and has certainly helped fill in the gaps,” Carrie says.
Pandemic Perseverance
As her wedding date loomed closer and the pandemic continued to rage, Ashlee wondered what would become of her wedding.
“I think we were just concerned [about] what it was all gonna look like,” Ashlee says. “What we were gonna be able to do, what we weren’t gonna be able to do, whether the wedding was even gonna be able to take place.”
But as fate would have it, the wedding went on. With a wedding date of June 19, Ashlee’s wedding was nestled between the shutdown and the reopening orders.
“It actually turned out to be the most beautiful day,” Ashlee says.
Some of the modifications Ashlee made to her wedding included spacing out table settings and placements, reducing the number of people at each table, offering masks to her guests and providing hand sanitizer stations.
“It couldn’t have been more special,” Ashlee says. “We’re so thankful that we got to have it. I’m thankful that we got to have a lot of our friends and family there. And I’m so thankful for the different vendors and professionals that we worked with because I think they made all the difference.”
Some of the vendors Ashlee worked with for her wedding incorporated Zoom meetings in place of live meetings.
“I’m grateful for all those different tools we have,” Ashlee says. “They were able to really understand my vision and nail down what we wanted. And it was great.”
Wedding vendors like Hunter and the ones Ashlee worked with now offer virtual communications for their clients, given the current pandemic climate.
“Obviously, we have pivoted what precautions are in place and the safety measures required for a successful event, day-of,” Hunter says. “We are personal people and still want to do as much in person as we can, but we have had to take more meetings via Zoom and over the phone than before.”
The Future Of Weddings
No matter when the end of the pandemic comes, whenever that may be, the changes it brought to the wedding industry may be here to stay. Kelly believes wedding contractors may have to adapt.
“Couples will be a little wearier on contract commitments and deposits due to the uncertainty of the planned wedding day moving forward,” she predicts. “I've heard nightmare stories of couples losing $20-30k from changing their date, so couples won't be as eager to make a financial commitment to book a vendor.”
Through all the stress the pandemic has wrought, it has brought renewed focus for brides on what’s most important.
“I see more excitement and energy as people take advantage of the time they have together. I see more time spent talking around tables. I see more smiles on the dance floor and pictures being taken,” Hunter says. “I see a greater value in the moments we have with each other because we’ve felt what it’s like to have that taken away.”
Micro-weddings have also emerged as a trend due to the pandemic — one Kelly says is here to stay.
“These smaller more intimate weddings seem to work well for a lot of couples who would rather have a more private celebration,” Kelly says. “Couples seem to spend about the same as they would on a larger wedding, but are able to personalize, customize and focus on the guests with individual touches to invitations, food/drinks and hotel welcome bags. They are able to go out of their way for guests to really thank them for being there.”
Even if the pomp and circumstance of weddings last, there will be more of a focus on what’s most important.
“I think [the pandemic] also has made an impact on young couples and what is really, truly important in planning their wedding day,” Carrie says. “It’s not so much the big party and a ton of guests as it used to be. I see that they’re kind of trending toward more intimate and micro-type wedding settings.”
For Ashlee, the pandemic really made her consider what was most important. And for other pandemic-era brides, she says to enjoy the wedding planning process because it goes by so quickly.
“Whether it be you have to meet with your florist via Zoom or pick up cake from the [shop] and bring it home to taste — all of these different things if you have to do that — just enjoy that process,” Ashlee says. “It’s kind of the world we’re living in right now, and ultimately I think being married to the person you love and adore is going to be the most important piece.”