Love Is Patient: Couples, Wedding Organizers Plan Around The Coronavirus
SAINT JOHN – Matt Gregg and Taylor Noftell began planning their wedding two weeks after getting engaged last May.
But now the fate of the Saint John couple’s big day set for July 4 is uncertain amid a provincial state of emergency during the coronavirus pandemic.
“There’s a lot of anxiety. There’s a lot of late nights where we’re kind of sitting there debating whether or not it would be beneficial to just go to the justice of the peace and get the marriage done with,” Gregg said. “But it means a lot to us that we have our friends and family there to witness the most important day of our lives.”
Facing a wave of COVID-19-related postponements, New Brunswick’s wedding industry is shifting to offer flexible dates and work with couples as the spring wedding season begins.
Natasha Tobias, who owns Natasha’s Weddings & Events with her husband, has been flooded with calls and emails over the past few weeks from uncertain clients. She’s suggesting picking a back-up date for the fall or next year and waiting to see how the situation progresses.
“It’s scary,” she said. “The unknown is scary but we are all very hopeful.”
Many couples are considering the impact continued restrictions could have on out-of-province and international guests who booked travel for this summer.
Tobias and her husband, who own two former Saint John churches that have been converted into venues, had to postpone all weddings from March through the end of May. They’ve had to lay off all of their staff and shut the breakers off at their buildings besides those powering the security systems.
“We have no income as we have no events happening. We still say to each other every day that we feel like we are living in a movie,” she said. “It doesn’t seem real – we still can’t believe this is real life.”
Local wedding vendors ranging from venues, photographers, DJs, florists and caterers have been flexible in transferring down payments and willing to pencil in potential dates. All three laid-off employees at Natasha’s Weddings even asked to volunteer this week and help until things return to normal.
Natasha’s worked with Gregg and Noftell to set a tentative backup date in October.
“She’s been super accommodating,” Gregg said. “She and her staff members are very warm, caring individuals that really look out for our best interests as the couple.”
The couple is monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and waiting to see what happens in the coming weeks before making a decision.
“To really pull the trigger on a tentative date, we would have to see some forecasting of when the situation is going to cool down and settle, and of course make sure that our guests are comfortable,” Gregg said.
The big season for the weddings is from May until the end of October, meaning vendors and planners have already lost a month. In the Maritimes, the industry brings millions of dollars in revenue and employs thousands as people travel from afar to attend.
Natasha’s Weddings also lost all corporate events for March and April.
“All of the wedding vendors rely on this income to get them through the whole year,” Tobias said. “If social distancing continues throughout the summer we will all lose our whole season and to be honest I have no idea how we will make it through next winter to pay the monthly bills it costs to run this business, let alone the money it costs to heat these old churches.”
If government restrictions allow for events to resume later this summer, the industry will already have lost most of its weddings. Tobias said that leaves corporate Christmas clients as the only hope for her and certain vendors to get through to the next season.
“We will all get through this together,” she said. “We live in an amazing community and we will all help each other out.”
Faced with a wave of rescheduling and new bookings for the future, next summer is on track to be the busiest season yet. Natasha’s Weddings received seven new inquiries for next year over the last weekend.
As Gregg and Noftell follow the situation, a major consideration is making sure friends and extended family are able to attend.
The couple is scheduled to be married at the Rockland Church, formerly the Holy Trinity Church in Saint John. They chose the venue, now owned by Natasha’s Weddings because it’s the same place both Gregg and Noftell’s parents had their weddings when it was still a church.
For now, they remain optimistic knowing their own wedding will happen – even if it means moving it to a later date.
“It makes a great story someday to tell our kids that we were patient enough to wait through a pandemic,” Noftell said.