The wedding season is back in full swing, and it appears to be busier than ever, as businesses fit in two years’ worth of postponed events into the already busy peak months.
Tailors, florists, caterers, photographers, venues, planners and all those who work in the wedding industry are working around the clock to keep up with demand. But the hectic pace does not necessarily mean they are making up for all the business lost to the pandemic that hit Malta in March 2020.
Friday weddings are now the norm when before they were an exception, and weddings of foreign couples have restarted- Abigail Mamo, Chamber of SMEs
“Spring 2022 was always planned to be busy as we hoped to be back to normality after two years of pandemic,” Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU) head Abigail Mamo said.
Pandemic restrictions drive up costs
“And it is even busier than that, since weddings have been redistributed. Friday weddings are now the norm when before they were an exception and weddings of foreign couples restarted.”
In the early days of the pandemic the government announced restrictions on mass events, including weddings.
Initially they were banned but eventually restrictions were eased. For many months during the pandemic, guests at weddings had to be seated and lists cut down. From this month all restrictions were lifted.
Many couples who were planning the typical big Maltese wedding – with guest lists of some 500 people – decided to wait it out. Others tied the knot in a simple ceremony with close relatives present.
Mamo said this meant that, from a business perspective, while businesses involved in the weddings industry are very busy at the moment – dealing with bookings for 2022 over and above fitting the postponed events – they also lost business from those who tied the knot when weddings were not allowed due to the restrictive measures in the first year of the pandemic. Besides, Mamo added, pandemic restrictions drove up costs.
Wedding filmmaker Malcolm Debono said that the May to July period is peak wedding season, with 70 per cent of weddings take place. In 2020 few weddings took place, and the following year, they were packed into the last six months.
'People are tired of waiting... they just want to get married'
“This year we are returning to normal. There is a peak season that is busier than normal as some weddings were pushed into this year and foreign weddings have resumed,” Debono said.
Wedding planner Sarah Young, who specialises in destination weddings, said that while this was usually a busy month this year was even busier due to postponements of the previous two years.
She too said this did not necessarily mean that planners were making more money since some weddings had to be planned multiple times as they kept being postponed due to the pandemic and the changing restrictions it brought with it.
“For example, this weekend I have a wedding which I started planning in 2018 for 2020 and that was pushed four times into 2022.”
A spokesperson for Villa Arrigo, a wedding venue, said spring was always a busy season, but this year was “slightly busier”. Also, this year they were seeing more people willing to tie the knot on a weekday.
“People are tired of waiting... they just want to get married,” the spokesperson said.