UK Weddings with Covid

January 21, 2021 • Leave a Comment

Nearly one million weddings are in the post-pandemic pipeline, with an estimated boost to the economy of £43 billion over the next two years. 95% of couples have postponed rather than cancel their wedding*. To realise this potential, government support is required to save the 60,000 businesses (employing 400,000 people) who have been largely unable to work since March 2020. 50 million people in the UK are likely to attend a wedding by the end of 2022. UK Weddings Taskforce – the official body designated to negotiate with the government – has called for a “perfectly reasonable and economically viable” financial support bridge to ensure the demand for weddings can be met.

The weddings sector, paralysed by the restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic, has been unable to trade in any commercially viable form since March 2020 Currently weddings are prohibited. Many businesses report catastrophic losses and over three-quarters of businesses have reported revenues down by over 75% (Source UK Weddings Survey).

Unlike other sectors, however, the majority (95%) of consumers have postponed rather than cancel their weddings with 220,000 UK weddings postponed since the first lockdown. With 475,000 weddings currently scheduled to take place in 2021, including 196,500 postponed from 2020, the industry is predicted to generate £25 billion for the UK economy in 2021.

The sector is asking the government for assistance and assurances to restore consumer confidence in businesses with a financial support bridge and to provide clarity on a safe and realistic opening up of weddings from Easter to larger numbers now that the vaccine offers light at the end of the tunnel.

Having successfully made the case that business has not been lost but merely deferred, the recently formed, industry appointed UK Weddings Taskforce is now officially representing the sector. It has been engaging in two-way communication with government via the Minister for Small Business, Paul Scully MP, and his department (BEIS).

The UK Weddings Taskforce is meeting with government Monday and urgently seeking:

A financial support bridge for wedding businesses of £680m.
The clarity for venues, businesses and couples with weddings in the pipeline between now and the summer.
Measures to restore couples’ confidence in resuming their wedding planning for 2021 and beyond.
Solutions to roadblocks in the way for couples and businesses that include insurers refusing to offer couples weddings insurance.

The Taskforce Spokesperson, wedding planner Sarah Haywood, is available for interview.

*WEDDING SECTOR KEY FACTS

Number of Weddings across the UK:

278,599 weddings occur every year in the UK (figures from the Offices of National Statistics for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
Over 260,000 weddings were postponed due to the pandemic in 2020 (based upon ONS average figures)
Businesses responding last week to a survey by the UK Weddings Taskforce reported catastrophic losses, with over three-quarters of businesses have reported revenues down by over 75%**
An estimated 278,000 recently engaged couples are also planning to marry from 2021 onwards: when added to the postponed weddings from 2020, circa 475,000

Wedding Industry Workers:

Approximately 400,000 workers are involved in weddings:

- 250,000 people depend on work related to delivering a wedding day itself

- 150,000 more work in support functions

For every couple who attends a wedding as a guest, depending upon the size of the wedding between 1 and 4 people are involved in working to deliver the day itself, earning less than £25,000 per year on average.
Majority female-driven, ethnically diverse and 50% small and micro-businesses.

www.ukweddings.org

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