BOSTON — Valentine’s Day could be marked by a lot of marriage proposals which would quickly turn into wedding planning for many couples.
Vendors and venues around the area tell Boston 25 News they’re already busy as couples who canceled their weddings last year are now re-booking.
At La Jolie Fleur in Worcester, owner and florist Sean Maher said they’re looking forward to a busy season. “It’s like we’re completely out straight thru September.”
That’s welcome news as the pandemic caused business to wilt. Weddings typically represent about a third of their business. “We’re probably down anywhere from $75,000-$125,000,” added Maher.
Brides like Sherry Michelson certainly learned about rescheduling events this passed year.
Engaged in October 2019, the original plan was for a July 2020 wedding which then got bumped back to July 2021. Now she hopes to tie the knot in November.
“To just put the brakes on that, it was really depressing,” said Michelson.
Michelson might end up considering herself lucky, however. She’s all set to have the wedding of her dreams at the Verve Hotel in Natick. Lou Carrier, President of the Distinctive Hospitality Group which runs the Verve Hotel, says there’s a lot of pent-up demand for wedding services.
“The upside with the vaccine now out and the restrictions easing up is that the rebooking of weddings that were already on the books has absolutely occurred,” said Carrier. “That is now coupled with a backlog of people who wanted to get married for the past year.”
Carrier says couples are desperate to celebrate something, anything, with families and friends. “Humans socialize, that’s what we do.”
Christine Tascione, Vice President of Sales for the Distinctive Hospitality Group, says people looking to book events still want access the outdoors, and rooms with high ceilings and that can be spread out.
Most of the weddings have guest lists below 150 people and many are even smaller, considered micro weddings.
Because the virus is still a wild card, Tascione tells couples to make sure they understand any contracts they sign.
“What rights do you have to postpone, reschedule, or ultimately cancel if you’re planning a wedding for 100 people and the governor says that you can’t have a gathering of more than 20 people, what are your options?” said Tascione.
Having a small wedding never appealed to Michelson. She wants to bring all her families and friends together. “I know when I look back at those pictures, hopefully a video, that will be priceless.”
In New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced a plan that would allow indoor weddings of up to 150 people as long as everyone could provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test.
Right now, the size of indoor gatherings in Massachusetts remains capped at 10 people but everyone Boston 25 News spoke with is hopeful that will be loosened up soon
Download the free Boston 25 News app for up-to-the-minute push alerts
>> Complete local and national coronavirus coverage here
RESOURCES:
- Complete local and national coronavirus coverage here
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Watch Boston 25 NOW
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
