Peter 'Franc' Kelly: The Irish wedding industry is on its knees

The wedding planner and television presenter says that action needs to be taken in order to preserve the Irish wedding industry 

The wedding and event industry has suffered an immeasurable loss since March, says the wedding and event planner. Picture: Dan Linehan

"Tourism Ireland upset me personally the other day when I got a letter saying that I'm not a tourist business." 

Peter 'Franc' Kelly, wedding maestro and presenter of Say Yes To The Dress Ireland is calling from the convent he bought two years ago in Rosscarbery, Co Cork. Intended to be a tourist destination opening guests up to the wonder of West Cork, Kelly has spent the last number of months renovating the property himself, as the wedding industry slowed to an almost halt thanks to Covid-19. 

Kelly has come together with a number of Irish wedding and event planners including Tara Fay to shed light on the fact that many in the wedding and event industry have not been able to avail of the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS)". 

"I've been speaking to the Government for a long time and I know that they are not going to give us answers," he says. So I'm forcing them to explain why we are being discriminated against because it's actually at the stage of crisis. 

According to a survey run by the group, sixty per cent of Irish wedding professionals lost three-quarters of their business last year. 

"Originally everyone in the industry was just trying to get through it," Kelly says. "We've been supporting the hotels and the bars getting the CRSS payment - we still think they should get it. I never would have taken it from anybody. I just want to ask, how come we're being victimised? It's very hard to see so many people in the industry who can't pay mortgages, who are losing their companies - it's devastating."

Kelly says that the only thing that will ensure that the wedding and event industry endures here in Ireland, is by providing it with the CRSS. 

"It was brought out to help the industry survive. The only reason they gave it to bars, hotels and restaurants is that they knew that if they didn't give the support, then those businesses would not be here today. If this was Google or Apple and there were 400,000 jobs on the line - people would stand up and notice."

Peter says that unless government acts soon, brides will not be saying Yes To The Dress in Ireland. Picture: RTE

As a creator of dreams, of course, Kelly is worried about his couples. 

"I feel so sorry for couples and their families who have been messed around all of this year. These people have lost deposits, they've moved dates". 

In order for couples to be able to have their dream weddings, they need to be able to avail of their suppliers, he points out.  

"The vendors need to be supported or else they won't be there for these couples in 2022. The biggest question we have been asked by couples is 'will my vendor be there when my wedding happens', and at the moment we can't answer that because so many of them are in trouble. When it hits, it will be massive."

For Peter Kelly, the biggest hurt of this situation is the lack of recognition his industry has received during the pandemic. "I've been involved in bringing weddings to different parts of Ireland for over twenty years. That's inbound tourism - I call it Destination Ireland," he explains. 

"I have also been bringing couples from South Africa, China, Germany, India and America to Ireland for two decades. I'm on a global advisory board representing 45 nations who see me as a global ambassador for destination weddings and it's funny that in my own country, my business is not seen as part of tourism."