Munster wedding industry feels effect of Covid restrictions

Under the latest guidance, guests should wear masks when they are moving around the wedding venue and they must leave the function room by 11.30pm.

Fáilte Ireland has issued more stringent wedding guidelines this week in addition to the existing restrictions facing those operating in the wedding industry in Munster.

The latest guidance from Fáilte Ireland imposes an 11:30pm curfew on the wedding day and requires all wedding guests to wear face-coverings when arriving to and leaving their table.

Covid-19 signage asking guests to respect physical distancing guidelines is to be displayed on guests tables and the dance floor, with staff being asked to monitor guests compliance with social distancing guidelines.

Janice Casey, wedding coordinator and bride and groom advisor at The Metropole Hotel, Cork, said the amount of weddings they've hosted in the past few months is down, but they are lucky to have had no cancellations.

"I think what this pandemic has taught us, if nothing else, is that what's important is the getting married rather than the big event."

“Most people ringing don’t want to cancel. They’re ringing for advice. By the time they’re off the call, they’re happy to have a new date or celebrate within the government guidelines.”

According to Confetti Magazine's annual Irish Wedding Survey, the average overall wedding budget for Irish couples in 2020 (excluding the honeymoon) was over €28,000.

Irish couples spend an average of €12,754 on their wedding venue, with hotels the most popular choice.

Janice Casey of The Metropole Hotel in Cork said the amount of weddings they've hosted in the past few months is down, but they are lucky to have had no cancellations.

Ms Casey said The Metropole has "absolutely been hurt financially" by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent restrictions. 

However, the hotel has had no cancellations with most people opting to either downsize or postpone their day.

"People really, really want to celebrate,” she said.

The hotel recently hosted their first ‘post-Covid wedding,’ with the couple downsizing their wedding from 110 to 32.

“At the end of it all, they just wanted to get married,” Ms Casey said.

“Everything went off perfectly in regards to social distancing and with 32 people in a ballroom, the atmosphere was fantastic."

“It was a great benchmark for us to see that yes, we can do weddings under 50 people.” 

“The atmosphere, the service and the safety of the guests, everything was adhered to, but it was still a wonderful day for the couple. It can be done.” 

“That was great for us to see just before the new restrictions we have now.” 

Under the latest guidance, guests should wear masks when they are moving around the wedding venue and they must leave the function room by 11.30pm.

Shared items such as salt and pepper shakers are on request, while drinks must be poured by service personnel and not left on tables.

Little touches like sweet carts, photo booths and the reception bathroom basket are not in line with government guidance which prohibits ‘self-service stations.’ 

Ms Casey acknowledged that the constantly evolving string of new guidelines and government restrictions “is very stressful.” However, as the lady responsible for ensuring couples get the day of their dreams, focusing on what you can do for your wedding day, rather than what you can’t is the key to how Ms Casey is communicating with her clients.

“It’s hard work on our behalf, but we want it to be a hugely positive experience for guests. I don’t focus on the negatives. Instead of looking at it like I can't have a basket of bread or a jug of water or a bottle of wine on the table, we give them the positives.” 

"We make the couple feel as comfortable as they possibly can be in a global pandemic.” 

The Metropole Hotel can usually accommodate up to 180 people for a wedding, and reducing the wedding party to under 50 is one of the most stressful things for couples getting married.

“I just tell people, okay, you’re going to have to start falling out with people!” Ms Casey jokes.

When it comes to reducing numbers, she assures couples that people are very understanding, “come at it with the positivity of, we're just doing this for immediate family but save the date for a party this time next year.” 

In this vein, the hotel has come up with a new package to encourage couples to go ahead with their upcoming wedding.

The two-day ‘memories duet’ package offers an intimate wedding for now, with a bigger party on the same date the following year.

“Couples can get married this year on the original date or next year on their original date, they can have the wedding for the 50 people, including staff, and then a year later, you come back on your anniversary and you have the party."

“So you can celebrate your special day with your nearest and dearest and then come back to us a year later on your anniversary and have the DJ, the band, the finger food, the ballroom and the dance floor.”

 

A typical Irish wedding is usually 120 to 160 people, but with Covid-19 forcing couples to consider smaller weddings, do those in the industry foresee the big Irish wedding becoming a thing of the past?

"I think people are adapting to the new normal as they call it, but I have great belief that this time next year we can be back to what we would consider normal pre-Covid," Ms Casey said.

“I do see the big Irish wedding coming back again."

“Our mantra is céad míle fáilte. We want to welcome everybody in the door. But we just have to be very careful how many we welcome and how we welcome them.

Beyond the future of the Irish wedding, Ms Casey is feeling positive about the future of the hospitality industry.

“It's all new to us and we're learning as we go along but I feel we have adapted to it really well. We’re going to go through a tough couple of months, but will we come out of this bigger and better? Of course, we will.” 

For those in the destination wedding industry, things are slightly bleaker.

Annie Byrne, originally from the United States, has been living in Ireland for over 20 years.

Based out of Dingle, Co. Kerry, Ms Byrne has been planning and coordinating destination weddings in the Munster region for the past decade.

Her business, Aislinn Events, specialise in destination weddings in Kerry, Cork and Limerick with 95 per cent of their clientele American or Canadian’s seeking a wedding or elopement on the Emerald Isle.

All of her clients would be travelling from overseas for their wedding day.

“I’ve postponed 38 weddings so far. That’s 38 venues, florists, photographers, videographers…” 

“A few I have postponed twice, weddings in early spring postponed to September that now they won’t be happening.” 

The spring and summer season is a popular time for destination weddings in Ireland but Ms Byrne says her schedule has been entirely wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions.

“I have nothing. My first wedding was supposed to be on the 23rd of March… which was when everything fell off a cliff. We found out about a week before.” 

“I have had four cancellations and 38 postponed.” 

Annie Byrne of Aislinn Events has seen 38 weddings postponed so far.

“I do have two very small weddings that are hoping to go ahead at the very end of October and the other the beginning of November. The second I have postponed twice already.” 

“Those two are it for me.” 

The 14-day quarantine upon arrival into Ireland has effectively killed Ms Byrne’s business, alongside other uncertainties like localised lockdowns.

“When I saw the government were shutting down counties I had to call most of my couples to say ‘I don’t think this is going to happen." 

Although she expects her Autumn/Winter diary to be almost empty this year, Ms Byrne said she is optimistic about the coming year.

“Having moved most of my 2020 weddings to 2021, provided everything goes ahead, it’s going to be a crazy year."

“I am also getting a good number of inquiries about 2021 which is really encouraging.” 

“I have five Skype calls in the next few days with couples who are looking to come to Ireland for their wedding next year.” 

Ms Byrne says she thinks the Irish government has done a good job on the crises here and said what’s happening in the states is “crazy.” 

Going into next year, Ms Byrne said her hope is that the government will allow people into the country without a quarantine provided they’ve been tested prior to arrival.

“I believe the testing should be done on the departure side, there’s no point testing them when they get to Ireland and other people on the plane could have been infected.