After 2019 saw 45 weddings cancelled or postponed in Squamish, the local wedding industry has taken another hit, now because of the pandemic.
Due to COVID-19 wide-sweeping travel bans, guests invited to celebrations and ceremonies can no longer make the trip. Small businesses and venues that normally cater to weddings have closed or seen drastic downturns in business.
The Sea to Sky Gondola had to close just weeks after reopening in February. For the second time in a year, the tourism attraction had to contact couples to suggest a change in plans.
Between 15 and 20 couples had planned their weddings for May and June at the gondola, spokesperson Christy Allan told The Chief.
She said the gondola started contacting those couples several weeks ago, offering to push the wedding to another date within a year, and holding the deposit.
"We're just trying to be as flexible as possible with people's wedding days," Allan said.
Allan said the majority of couples have opted to reschedule for the fall or 2021.
"I think for a lot of the couples as well, it's one thing with the venue, but it's a whole other thing when they know that their family and friends may not be able to travel. That really is their big decision to move the date."
The gondola is still accepting future bookings for weddings. One surprise, perhaps, is that the gondola has seen an increase in new bookings since its recent closure. Since the pandemic began, local couples who originally planned a destination wedding are now changing plans to have a local wedding with less travel.
"We are on both sides — we're getting the weddings who are wanting to postpone because they are wedding destinations coming in to Squamish, but we're also getting more locals, Vancouver, Squamish, who are looking for weddings closer to home in the next year or so," she said.
It's been heartwarming, Allan said, to hear the reasons why couples have chosen the gondola and Squamish as their venue to tie the knot, and choosing to postpone rather than cancel.
The Cheakamus Centre, which previously cancelled or postponed 23 weddings planned for late 2019 and early 2020 because of repairs, is again postponing its on-site programs. In a statement, the Cheakamus Centre announced its community and private events are postponed until further notice.
In an email, Sepideh Tazzman, a spokesperson for the Cheakamus Centre, said staff is continuing to assess the situation as it evolves, and will be working with clients on a case-by-case basis. The centre is still accepting future bookings.
It's not just venues impacted as part of the wedding industry in Squamish. Hairdressers have also been forced to temporarily close up shop. Family business Billies Flower House, which has operated in town since 1973 , has also had to close its doors.
Janine Reynolds, one of the owners of Billies since 2018, told The Chief that they had to lay off all 10 staff members.
She estimates weddings account for 80% of the store's business between May and through September. All of Billies' weddings until June have been cancelled or postponed. Some in July have also changed plans, and Reynolds said there have been no new wedding bookings.
Reynolds said Billies doesn't order the flowers until a month before the booked wedding date, but hours and days of planning go into each event. Many of the weddings they create floral arrangements for are last-minute elopements, which won't be happening this year, she added.
Reynolds said the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be felt long after this wedding season. There are only so many Saturdays, one of the prime dates for weddings, every summer so pushing back weddings complicates matters.
"It's a waterfall effect. If somebody was booked in this May, they're delaying until maybe next May. But I would have had a different wedding that May, so I would have made money on this wedding and the next one," she said. "Now, I'm not making any money on either of them because I'm not getting that second wedding and, this one, they've already paid most of their wedding this year and I'm holding their date — and their money — for the following year."
In the meantime, Billies is offering small online sales. While she said the community support has been great, businesses in Squamish will still suffer.
"I am an optimistic person and I am now losing great amounts of sleep over this. I don't know how we're going to see the end of it," Reynolds said. "And the government funding — it's loans. It's just putting us more in debt, which we don't have the money to get out of."
For Reynolds's family, Billies is their only source of income.
"If we lose our business, we also lose our house. We lose absolutely everything we have and have worked for."
