Has the wedding industry been forgotten?
On the 16th of July I published a blog trying desperately to give details on the subject of our 2021 spring/summer collection. I say desperately because we really had very little information to give. We did know that all UK buying fairs had been cancelled, we had heard it rumoured that deliveries would be later and collections, more than likely, smaller. But, that was as much information as could be given and our lack of clarity was very much a result of the government's lack of clarity!
Fast forward to today and little ( nothing) has changed. It goes without saying that the health of the country has to come first, however, it does seem that weddings are very much something being "kicked further and further down the road". Governments, perhaps, seeing weddings as really quite trivial, a bit of fun, something that can just be put on hold.
Fact, weddings are not trivial. They are not trivial for the couples concerned, nor for the many, many businesses associated with them.
Couples spend months, years planning their wedding, their every thought and waking moment given over to the big day! That, for many, is not trivial.
The wedding industry is worth an estimated 10 billion pounds to the UK economy, that is not trivial.
However, weddings are just not happening. Other business sectors are operating again, but, events would appear to be postponed, indefinitely. Couples and suppliers alike are floundering in the unknown. In April, it seemed possible that an August wedding might go ahead, in August in now seems unlikely that an October wedding will go ahead- well not if a wedding with lots of family and friends, music, no face coverings and no hand sanitizer is the order of the day!
So, 2021? We hope upon hope that normality will return and, if it does, 2021 is going to be busy, busy, busy! Every day of the week is going to be a wedding day. Suppliers are going to have little time to think and, as a stockist of fabulous mother of the bride and groom outfits, we hope to be busy too!
However and this is a huge however, buying for summer 2021 is taking on a very different guise. As mentioned above, all buying fairs have been cancelled, manufacturers will be producing smaller collections and many will be delivering later than is usual.
Therefore, it is quite possible that we will not have the huge volumes of new stock that we would normally have for the summer season. Therefore, if you are looking for an outfit for next year, we urge you to start looking now. The one certainty at the moment is that all retailers have stock now! My normal mantra is always "wait for the new stock, don't buy too soon" but, we are not living in normal times, the pandemic has put paid to that.
We are open from 10-5 Monday to Saturday, but, by appointment only. Please telephone 01292 264412 to book.
If you would rather wait until next year to look for your mother of bride or groom outfit, please keep following our blog and social media pages. We will update as and when there is any progress or information with which to update.
Please don't give up. Weddings will happen again, you will get married and you will have your big day!
In the meantime, if you are feeling like protesting a little, please join the #WhatAboutWeddings crusade and head over to this fabulous article. This has been written by those who are fighting and fighting to get the wedding industry back and I salute their absolute determination and hard work, thank-you!
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