For many decades weddings have been envisioned as an exciting fairytale, as they are publicised in media, movies, and magazines as the most extravagant and elegant day you could possibly imagine. However, 2020 has seen a series of events that have turned wedding planning almost completely upside down for many brides. 

Unfortunately Covid-19 has affected many weddings in 2020. In a 2degrees survey, over 70 percent of respondents missed a ‘big event’ during 2020. Many of these big events were, in fact, their own wedding day. Over 43 percent of the respondents had to postpone their wedding and 25 percent had to cancel it altogether. 

New Zealand marriage rates have noticeably decreased over the years when compared to their peak in 1971 when over 27,201 registered marriages were held. Meanwhile, In 2019 there were only 19,071 registered marriages, which is less than one-quarter of the percentage rate compared to 1971. Covid-19 has affected many weddings in 2020 and these statistics will decrease significantly.

Due to New Zealand’s Covid-19 restrictions, mass gatherings have been limited, border restrictions have been imposed and nationwide alert levels have been put in place to help stop the virus from spreading. Alert level 4 brought our whole nation into lockdown for six weeks, between the 25th of March and the 14th of May. All schools, businesses, and all non-essential workplaces were closed, and everyone had to remain at home. This meant that all weddings between this time frame had to be cancelled. Even at alert level 2, which our country has spent a lot of time in, gatherings were restricted to 100 people. Constant changes in alert levels have created a lot of uncertainty for many couples planning their wedding during this unprecedented time.

New Zealand wedding businesses have also been faced with a terrible financial loss, as they battle with ongoing uncertainties. Many wedding venues, photographers, planners, and celebrants, have all had to deal with the difficulty of weddings being cancelled and couples demanding deposits back, as cancelling was not ‘their fault’. The blame game never plays out well and has left many businesses facing financial hardship.

The recent NZEA survey, shows that many employers have cut their workforce by 35 percent. Event organisations, such as wedding venues have contributed to the financial loss to this sector between March and August 2020, with an estimate to be in excess of $570 million. 

Wedding nerves heighten

Wedding nerves heighten, as Covid-19 blocks the aisle for three uncertain brides. 

Newly married bride Nicole Squires (24), and Kit Squires were ready to tie the knot on the 16th of May. However, Covid-19 brought New Zealand into lockdown on March 25th, leaving the engaged couple in complete uncertainty, not knowing how long the country would remain in lockdown for.

“ It was such an upsetting time.  I burst into tears after Jacinda’s announcement that we were going into level 4.  Not knowing what was going to happen, or how long we would be in lockdown for was the worst and made wedding planning extremely difficult.” 

While everything was up in the air, Nicole and her fiance Kit spent many late nights calling over Facetime trying to come to a decision on what to do about their big day. Being apart during lockdown made wedding planning more difficult but they believed it was a wise decision to spend this time with their families. Eventually they decided to postpone their wedding, as they were unsure when the lockdown levels would be lifted.  

“Everything was literally out of our control.  There was nothing much we could do except make the call to postpone our wedding and go from there hoping that our new date wouldn’t be affected by Covid.” 

Fortunately, their wedding venue still had three dates remaining for the rest of the year. This meant they had to act fast to lock in their new wedding date. When May 16 (their wedding date) rolled around it was a bittersweet day, as it was the first time Nicole and Kit were able to see each other after 6 long weeks apart. Kit surprised Nicole with a mini wedding cake to commemorate what would have been their wedding day. 

Many concerns still loomed ahead, as their new wedding date approached them quickly. Auckland was still in lockdown two weeks before their wedding which caused a lot of extra stress, as it was essential for Kit’s dad to make it to their wedding, as he not only needed to be at his son’s wedding but he was also their wedding celebrant. Family and friends were extremely supportive of the couple and were helping in any way they could. “Everyone was feeling for us!”. Thankfully, Nicole and Kit were able to have a beautiful wedding with their family and friends by their side.

Meanwhile, many concerns loomed over newly married bride Mahaylia Stevenson (22) and groom Jordan Stevenson who had their wedding date set for September. Mahaylia and Jordan were lucky to have spent lockdown together with the inlaws which provided them with more time to plan for their big day and make necessary adjustments. However, there were many uncertainties for the couple, which made planning extremely difficult, and led them to leave organising some aspects to the last minute. 

“There was no way I could have imagined a global pandemic would be something I would have had to consider when planning my wedding!” 

Many questions flooded their minds, as they planned for an event they weren’t even sure would happen. 

“Should we elope? What if someone at the wedding had the virus? Will elderly and vulnerable still be comfortable attending? Will we have to social distance? If so will everyone fit inside the venue? These were just some of the MANY questions and concerns we had.”

Mahaylia along with many other New Zealand brides envisioned having a big wedding with many guests. Unfortunately, Mahyalia and Jordan had to limit their guests to around 80 people, allowing numbers for the staff as well. Fortunately, the Stevensons’ wedding was in the clear, as the lockdown levels were brought back down to level one and two, which allowed for immediate family and close friends from Auckland to attend their wedding. 

“We were so blessed to have our wedding the first weekend back of Level 1 so we could have everyone there, or else we would have had to awkwardly uninvite some people.”

Many lessons have been learned throughout Mahaylia’s wedding planning journey. 

Bride-to-be Bethany Wilson (23) continues to plan her wedding while remaining optimistic that Covid-19 will not get in the way of her big day. Bethany and Mitchell got engaged after Covid-19 hit, so they knew from the start that it was going to be a bumpy road to plan around. Despite the challenge of their dream wedding venues being fully booked, they learned to not have any expectations and to not get disappointed if things don’t plan out the way they envisioned. 

“It has really helped to put into perspective the important aspects of our wedding and at the end of the day, for us, it is about the people who will be there to celebrate with us, not the wedding setup.”

Bethany has come to the realisation that due to border restrictions, many of her family from the UK may not be able to attend their wedding next April. Thankfully we live in a digital world where live streaming is at the click of our fingers. This means that loved ones from all over the world will be able to celebrate their special day despite the travel restrictions. 

“A few problems have popped up that we weren’t expecting due to Covid-19, but we made sure to hold the mindset of not having our expectations too high so we wouldn’t get disappointed if it didn’t plan out the way we hoped.”

Living in a digital world, has increasingly helped make the planning process of weddings significantly easier, as they still have access to an abundance of information, contacts, venues and online shops.

Bethany has been very blessed throughout her wedding planning journey, as she has received some great bargains from people who have had to cancel their weddings due to the Covid-19.

Due to constant changes in New Zealand Covid-19 level restrictions, Bethany and Mitchell have decided to keep their wedding guest numbers relatively low which should work in their favour and cause less stress leading up to the wedding.

During unprecedented times, it is important that couples don’t lose hope and continue seeing the beauty marriage holds. The big hooray that was once envisioned and pre-planned all over a Pinterest board may now be compromised but at the end of the day, it is all about the person waiting for you at the altar.