There’s no doubt about it – COVID-19 has changed the way we live our lives. It has not only affected our personal and social lives, but also businesses and industries that we rely on day after day to provide us with the services we need.
One industry that has been seriously affected has been the wedding industry. With social gatherings limited to 15 people, couples have spent the entire year postponing their big day until next year or beyond.
But once the pandemic is over, will there be any permanent, long-term changes to the make-up of the wedding industry? Or will everything go back to normal?
Micro-Weddings Are Here To Stay
One wedding trend that has emerged this year that appears to be more than just a passing fad is the micro-wedding. Micro-weddings are weddings that typically have fewer than 30 guests, so you can imagine why they’ve enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance in 2020.
Many couples this year have hurriedly cut down the numbers on their guest list in order to retain their wedding date, with the plan being to have a larger, renewal-of-vows-esque ceremony on their first anniversary next year.
However, instead of being slightly underwhelmed by the quieter-than-expected wedding ceremony and reception, many couples have been enchanted by the intimacy of a micro-wedding, and have emerged from their big day spellbound and delighted that it turned out the way it did.
Plus, micro-weddings are cheaper. Many of you will have felt the pinch during these uncertain times, perhaps after losing your job or being furloughed for long periods of time, and the ability to splash out on a wedding with 100+ guests may now be financially beyond some of us.
As a result of these factors, and also due to the fact that we have no idea when we’ll be able to have large social gatherings again in 2021, many more wedding suppliers are starting to turn their attention to micro-weddings as a viable long-term business plan. This will have a knock-on effect on wedding trends, and ultimately will enshrine the popularity of micro-weddings for several years, long after the pandemic is over.
Outdoor Weddings Are On The Rise
One type of wedding that you’ll also see emerging as a popular option in the near future is the outdoor wedding. The predicted rise of outdoor weddings is fuelled not only by the restrictions on numbers in enclosed spaces and indoor venues, but also due to a change in marriage law that is just beyond the horizon.
A Law Commission paper is currently under review which would essentially enable couples to get legally married anywhere – at the moment, they’re only allowed to ‘do the legal bit’ in a church, a registry office, or a licensed venue.
This will exponentially increase the number of potential wedding venues available to couples, and will include any outdoor space, be it a mountain, a forest, a back garden, or a beach.
This groundbreaking potential law change, combined with the uncertainty of when we’ll be able to gather in large groups in enclosed spaces again, will undoubtedly lead to a plethora of weddings held in the open air that would otherwise have been held under a roof.
The ‘Traditional Wedding’ Will Still Be King
Despite what I’ve mentioned above, you’re still more likely to be invited to a ‘traditional’ wedding than you are to a micro-wedding or an outdoor wedding, and the reasons for this are many and varied.
Firstly, can you imagine how desperate everyone is going to be to have massive parties once the pandemic is under control? People will be going all out: events venues will be hosting huge parties to celebrate their reopening, wedding venues will be pushing for increased numbers to make up for the lost income from 2020, and couples may even be increasing their guest list themselves to compensate for the lack of socialising they’ve been able to do this year.
Secondly, tradition is tradition for a reason. People do things a certain way because it’s somehow comforting and conforms to expectations, and there are still more couples who prefer a wedding done the traditional way than those who shun tradition and elope, for example.
COVID-19 will not have dampened these traditions so much that large weddings simply disappear; on the contrary, they’ll probably enjoy a momentous comeback once restrictions are finally lifted.
Verdict
So will the wedding industry change post-pandemic? Probably – small intimate weddings and weddings outdoors will most likely see a gradual increase in popularity, but big, traditional weddings will remain the norm. In fact, it won’t be COVID that causes the greatest shift in the traditions of the wedding industry; it’ll be the aforementioned law that comes into place at the end of 2021.
By Mark Gregory
About the Author:
Mark Gregory is a Wedding Celebrant and Entertainer based in Yorkshire working under the business name Mark Your Occasion. He specialises in micro-weddings, outdoor weddings, and destination weddings across the UK and Europe. You can find him at www.markyouroccasion.com, or follow him on Instagram @markyouroccasion.
