SAN ANTONIO — The wedding industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. The concerns over the coronavirus resulted in shutdowns and wedding were forced to cancel nationwide.
But as restrictions began to lift, couples were able to move forward with celebrations.
Alamo Plants and Petals, a full-service flower shop in San Antonio, shared that employees are filling orders for weddings scheduled to happen this month.
“All of our wedding events came to a screeching halt. There were five months where we were not doing any events,” said Ann Marie Dylla, owner of Alamo Plants and Petals. “In a regular weekend, we tend to do one wedding a weekend where we can focus on that bride at that wedding. Because of the reschedules, we are scheduling four weddings a weekend.”
KENS 5 also spoke with a certified special events professional at Panache Event Group, Stacey DeWine, who shared that, despite the celebrations, wedding planners are not in the clear.
“Planners are probably at a disadvantage at this point because there’s only some much that we can take on. I wouldn’t say we recouped that lost income. But I would say that the clients coming to us now really understand the importance of a planner and what they do,” DeWine said.
She added that since many of the weddings have been moved to the fall and winter, it’s been difficult to find a venue.
“It’s a little hectic to find venues that are available and still open because the pandemic has taken a toll on a lot of brick-and mortar-places,” DeWine said.
But one pandemic perk is that smaller weddings mean couples are able to reduce their costs.
“What they normally couldn’t afford, now they can. Because instead of 30 tables, they have three tables or four tables. It makes the event much more opulent and decadent,” DeWine said.
Despite concerns over another possible coronavirus surge and rollbacks on reopening plans, DeWine and Dylla say they are focused on helping couples create memorable moments down the aisle.
“We just make it work even if we have to stay here until midnight,” Dylla said.
“You are going to tell your grand kids about this experience," DeWine added. "We are history in the making."