Otherwise engaged: Have weddings changed forever?
Did you hear about the couple who had their lockdown wedding under a mobile phone mast? The ceremony was a bit disappointing - but the reception was great…
Forgive the dad joke, but the wedding industry hasn’t had much to smile about over the past 18 months. With ever-changing restrictions and social gatherings off the table, weddings have been majorly impacted. Now that patient couples can finally eat, drink and be married, here we reflect on what the past year has been like for different sectors within the wedding industry and consider what comes next…
What has happened in the wedding industry over the past year?
To say that weddings have changed in the past year and a half is an understatement. Unsurprisingly, Google searches for “wedding insurance”, “postpone wedding” and “cancel wedding” soared. Pandemic weddings looked and felt different. Until recently, numbers were restricted, hens and stags off the table for many long months and most overseas wedding plans have been abandoned. Love went online - “virtual marriages” were trending on Google last year - with virtual romance still with us for Valentine’s Day.
While it’s true that there has been a spike in new trends like virtual weddings, the pandemic also accelerated certain trends already happening in the wedding industry, such as the rise of microwedding.
The rise of the microwedding
While plenty of couples have had their work cut out for them, slashing guest lists, changing locations and braving the elements to keep the wedding date they so desperately wanted, many more were already planning for smaller, more casual affairs and elopements as a way of taking off a little bit of the pressure. According to those in the industry, many couples are going in on the details to give a smaller number of guests a perfectly personalised experience. Think touches like handwritten welcome notes, embroidered napkins with guests’ initials and more elaborate flower arrangements. Nonetheless, the various sectors within the wedding industry have felt the impact over the last year, and many are now beginning to recover…
Hospitality and retail see unBRIDEled growth
If there’s one thing we’ve seen in our Barclaycard research during the pandemic, it is that people have had no problem getting creative when it matters. This applies to ingenious couples who we’ve seen doing whatever it takes to have a beautiful day, to the small businesses they rely on to make their wedding dream a reality. As we reported earlier this year, creativity has flourished in the food and drink sector, as businesses of all shapes and sizes have risen to the considerable challenges set out for them this year.
Now we are allowed to meet, eat, and celebrate indoors, Barclaycard research back in May this year found that SMEs were forecasting an 18 per cent increase in revenues over the next year, with the hospitality and leisure sector expecting a 42 per cent boost. Many SMEs have an optimistic (33 per cent) or neutral (40 per cent) outlook for the UK economy, which increases to 51 per cent optimistic and 36 per cent neutral about the prospects for their own businesses.
We’re seeing a similar story play out in retail. The boom in celebrations in recent months has triggered high growth, according to Barclaycard data from May, there was a 27.2 per cent rise in spend in specialist retailers like gift shops, toy shops and jewellers – perhaps a sign that consumers are buying more presents as they finally get to catch up with loved ones at weddings, belated birthdays and baby showers.
The honeymoon isn’t over…
It just looks a little different right now. Unsurprisingly, many couples are holding off on taking their dream honeymoon, with many opting for ‘mini-moons’ or staycations closer to home. From Cornwall to the Cotswolds, Soho to Scotland, the UK has plenty of chic options to keep amorous couples entertained. Barclaycard spend data for July showed spending on hotels, resorts and accommodation rose 7.8 per cent - its highest growth since before the first lockdown.
There are signs that things are beginning to stabilise in the travel sector. July spend data also indicates that overseas bookings are increasing, as spending on airlines (-56.2 per cent) and travel agents (-66.6 per cent) showed less of a decline than in June (-70.9 per cent and -75.3 per cent respectively).
The big question…
With a new appreciation for smaller, more relaxed and intimate affairs, have weddings changed forever? Only time will tell.
The wedding industry continues to be valuable to so many different types of businesses. As we move forward, professionals will be called upon to stay agile and flexible, able to cater to weddings big and small, restrictions tight and loose and couples traditional and offbeat wishes. This will take creativity, positivity and love - happily qualities that those in the industry have enough of to throw around like confetti...