Wedding and event bookings surge as pandemic restrictions ease
People who work in the wedding and events industry are seeing a surge in bookings thanks to upcoming changes to pandemic restrictions.
Starting March 1, indoor venues like event halls can operate at full capacity. Proof of vaccination will no longer be required but the mask mandate will remain.
“That gives our staff confidence. Knowing that business is coming back,” said Bingemans owner Mark Bingeman.
The ballroom at Bingemans that can hold around 1,000 people.
Some venue owners said it's a relief to see restrictions begin to ease, but it will still take time to bounce back.
“Unless you have something already planned, our recovery tends to be delayed by anywhere from six months to a year,” said Bingeman.
“Wedding venues are available Monday to Sunday now because they can’t keep up. And it is kind of the same thing with photographers now we are kind of being forced to take on extra work,” said photographer Karin Hughes
Hughes said she hired eight new workers to help with the 40 weddings booked in 2022.
“It is so abnormal to already be fully booked,” Hughes said.
Amaka Obodo is a fashion designer and owner of Queendavis Bridal Atelier in Kitchener. She said her phone is ringing off the hook, but it’s a good problem to have.
“I was worried about closing because I had colleagues in the industry that closed up their businesses,” Obodo said.
The designer said she is fully booked until May because brides who originally planned to get married at the start of the pandemic are coming back around now.
“They had only 25 people attending their wedding, so they didn’t want to have that. So they had to move it to 2022,” said Obodo.
Kanchan Ladhar and her sister got custom bridesmaid dresses made by Obodo for their brother’s wedding in the fall.
“I am like blown away. I feel like a princess,” said Ladhar. “I found pockets in my dress and I love it.”
Ladhar said her brother plans to have about 400 people attend his wedding. His family is grateful a guest list that long will be allowed, under the new restrictions.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
There's progress reported in Gaza truce talks, but Israel downplays chances of ending war with Hamas
A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported "noticeable progress" in cease-fire talks with Israel, though an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war in Gaza.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.