The novel coronavirus has been long-lasting and its impact has been widespread. From the financial impact to mental stress, it has left many jobless and out of work. With every passing month, its impact is being felt majorly. It’s no surprise that the wedding industry has taken a major hit too. It has forced many couples postpon their wedding dates, and wait for an unforeseeable future for their ceremony could take place. According to the ONS average figures, Over 2,60,000 weddings were postponed due to the pandemic in 2020, and an estimated 2,78,000 newly engaged couples are also planning to marry from 2021 onwards. Adding these number together a total of 4,75,000 weddings are in the pipeline for 2021 and 3,49,000 for 2022. This points towards the wedding industry’s huge contribution to the UK economy that is majority female-driven with ethnic diversity, and accounts for 50% of small and micro-businesses.
Not only does it contribute to the GDP immensely but also accounts for a large number of jobs. Until the beginning of 2020, approximately 4,00,000 workers were involved in the industry, depending on work related to executing a wedding day itself and 1,50,000 people in support functions. For every couple who attends a wedding as a guest, depending upon the size of the celebration, between 1 and 4 people are involved in working to deliver the day itself, earning less than £25,000 per year on average.
In the pre-pandemic world, a whopping estimate of £14.7bn was directly spent on weddings in the UK every year and a total of 2,78,599 weddings annually, according to the figures from the Offices of National Statistics for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. There was a £9.4bn expenditure spent on the big day, £3.2bn on retail and £2.1bn on travel, tourism and pre-wedding events. With a ban on large gatherings, weddings ceased to exist for this interim period, making the industry almost non-existent. A survey by the UK Weddings Taskforce reported catastrophic losses, with over three-quarters of businesses have reporting revenues down by over 75%. Giving us proof that the pandemic has left many unemployed and without income.
To address the alarming issue, on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, 38 cross-party MPs on the UK Weddings Taskforce came together to write a letter to the Prime Minister urging immediate intervention to save the UK wedding industry, a sector devastated by the pandemic and facing months without income.
Supporting the work of the UK Weddings Taskforce, MP Neil Parish said, "MPs across the country are hearing that their local wedding businesses are on their knees—and that's why we're stepping in. We are now calling on the PM to intervene because the current roadmap and economic support falls short of what is required to get the sector through to June 21. The UK Weddings Taskforce has worked tirelessly to put in place a sensible plan for servicing weddings again, but dialogue with the Government has not yet led to constructive policies, and we can't afford to wait much longer. If we want the sector to live happily ever after, we need action now."
The letter pointed out diminishing revenue and also recommendations such as tax reductions and grants to jumpstart the industry. Read the letter below:
However, we can see light at the end of the tunnel only by June 21, 2021 when the UK government has proposed easing of all restrictions on the wedding industry if all goes well. It is only then that the sector will bounce back to become financially viable.