Wedding events expected to surge this summer as couples catch up

• After quiet 2020, things are picking up
• Pent up demand should make it a busy 2022

It has been a difficult two years not only for couples planning weddings, but for wedding photographers and DJs, too.

Many couples were forced to reschedule their big day multiple times due to COVID-19 restrictions, all the while unsure when the restrictions would lift.

Owner of Memorable and Vibrant Okanagan Photography, Michelle Behr, photographed 40 weddings last year, but her full schedule was largely due to her willingness to work within the restrictions set out by the government.

“Having COVID come in and take away the freedom to plan as you like to, and making people just question and re-plan so many times has been really, really challenging,” Behr told Kelowna10.

Behr said she’s booked 30 weddings for this summer, and she’s sure there will be another 10 bookings as well.

She added she would like to see some more consistency with the regulations, so things aren't yanked away almost arbitrarily, as she put it.

“Nobody really knows what to expect, and that's really stressful, and impacting people economically and psychologically,” Behr said.

According to Behr, it’s been difficult to hold her ground when it comes to keeping to the restrictions.

“Nobody’s really ‘special’ as far as the pandemic’s concerned, and some people want you to make exceptions to the rules that are there to protect everybody,” Behr said.

Despite the potential setbacks, Behr said couples planning to book a photographer for this summer should go ahead.

“Life goes on. I haven’t experienced any shortage of people falling in love, getting married, having babies, but I think it is really important to plan safely with COVID restriction plans in place,” she said.

Owner of Danae Marie Photography, Danae Howson, said people are adapting and changing how they do their wedding planning.

“I think that people are either doing elopements, or narrowing down the number of guests that they have, so I’m actually not worried this summer,” she added.

Howson said it’s been an interesting past few years, and in 2020, most weddings were canceled or postponed to the following year.

“Last year was a really big year of catchup, so basically two years of weddings combined into one, so super, super busy,” she said.

According to Howson, couples are really stressed with having to change their plans so many times.

“Basically, it’s as if people are planning four different weddings sometimes, having to postpone and re-plan and everything," she said, but urged people to plan the big day, despite it all.

“Still figure out a way to celebrate anyways with your closest people, and it’s going to be okay. It’s been a hard couple of years but it’ll be good.”

Music is a crucial part of a wedding experience, and DJs have had their fair share of setbacks due to the pandemic as well.

DJ John Byrne said it's been a logistical nightmare, to say the least.

“The past two years have been very difficult. I lost most of my gigs in 2020, and I'd say about half of my gigs in 2021,” Byrne said.

He added the B.C. government seems to be hanging onto a ‘no dancing’ rule that has existed throughout the entire pandemic.

“I think DJs are a bit nervous as our wedding season depends on how quickly restrictions lift. If they do it very slowly, we could face more cancellations, which would be terrible for us,” Byrne said.

For Byrne, 2022 is looking to be a busy year.

“My calendar is looking pretty much full, but I think DJs are still a bit on edge about the lifting of restrictions,” he said.

“My advice to people booking this summer, is that most DJs are quite booked, so you might want to explore having your wedding on a weekday, or push into the off season, or 2023.”