RSVP ‘Maybe’? Coronavirus Puts Wedding Industry on Edge

Gabrielle Wheeler, 22, was supposed to get married in April in the olive groves of an Italian villa in the Tuscan town of Grosseto. She now has to settle for a wedding at the same place in a year. She tried to cancel when travel restrictions were imposed, but the venue wouldn’t refund her money.

“Honestly, I’m upset,” said Wheeler, who lives in Amsterdam. “I have to make the best of it.”

Abby Murray, a Charlotte, North Carolina, travel agent who specializes in honeymoons, said new business has come to a halt as existing clients postpone, shift destinations from hot spots like Italy to Hawaii, Costa Rica and the Caribbean, or try to navigate around connections through China.

At this time of year, she would usually be handling 20 clients. She now has two.

“People are scared to book their honeymoons right now. People don’t even want to explore it. They’re going to move forward with their weddings but take their honeymoons at a later date,” Murray said.

Dresses are also a problem for some.

The Green Bride shop in Littleton, Colorado, typically receives up to 60 wedding dresses shipped from China each month from February through May. In February, it received only four.

“We are on crunch time,” said Holly Marsh, one of the owners. “If the wedding is in June, and the dress is supposed to be here in February and it’s not going to get here until May, what do you tell them?”

David Gaffke, who owns the shop Complete Bridal in East Dundee, Illinois, relies heavily on China for manufacturing, as do most in the wedding gown business.

“It’s frustrating when it comes to having to tell a bride that we’re not able to fulfill your needs,” he said. “This is the most important dress they’re going to wear.”