Updated: 16/08/2020
It’s heartbreaking to see the devastation Covid-19 has brought to the world and from the SWWV team our heart goes out to all the small business & wedding suppliers, as well as all couples planning & saving for their dream wedding. So what is the impact of COVID-19 on WA Weddings?
There are so many uncertainties at this point, but we hope in this post we can answer some questions and offer some advice to those who are planning on getting wed in the south west; particularly around the coronavirus impact on weddings in Western Australia.
We will be regularly updating this post with travel restrictions, changes to social gathering numbers and other Western Australian government guidelines. This, all through the lens of those getting married in the South West and those vendors who help build those unforgettable days – to those that matter to this site and community.
PHOTOGRAPHER// Ayzia Jade Photography
Insurance
It’s highly unlikely insurance will cover pandemics. We’ve experienced this first hand through travel insurance companies ourselves! From the research we have done, we unfortunately could not find any companies that will offer compensation if you had to cancel your wedding due to coronavirus. If you are looking at getting insurance for your wedding, make sure you read all the terms and conditions and ask all the necessary questions to ensure it’s the right policy for you.
PHOTOGRAPHER// Ayzia Jade Photography
Wedding Suppliers & Wedding Venues
As you can imagine, Coronavirus has been extremely devastating for local suppliers with so much uncertainty in the months to come so it’s imperative we get the local South West perspective. We have asked Nardine from Scentiment Flowers for advice on how to manage this uncertain time and manage those important conversations in this current climate we are in:
Nardine says:
“If you have signed a contract with your vendor, this is legally-binding for both parties, and therefore you should not expect a refund, although the vendor may offer a postponement/credit towards a future wedding or event, or a partial refund as a remedy. There are two important reasons why wedding & event vendors ask you to sign a contract that includes no refunds for cancellations:
(a) they lock that date away exclusively for your wedding and will not take any additional bookings on that date (and therefore by cancelling/postponing they are highly unlikely to be able to replace the lost income); and
(b) this is most appropriate to those whose work includes a ‘design’ component like planners, stylists, florists and venues – there has already been a considerable amount of work done for your wedding, including many, many hours of design, correspondence with yourselves and other vendors, sourcing/purchase of materials, hiring of additional staff etc.
We love our jobs and we really want to work with you – so please choose to postpone your wedding and not cancel it; this act alone will save thousands of small businesses from going under.
The best way to coordinate a postponed wedding with your existing vendors is to ask your venue for a list of available dates. Then, send out a spreadsheet with a list of your proposed alternative dates and include a column for each vendor where they can indicate their availability for each date. Hopefully you can find at least one date where everyone is available. If you ask all your vendors to be available for just one date, chances are you are going to be disappointed (and so will they!)
If you choose to postpone your wedding, you may need to factor in either a small administration fee, or a complete review of pricing for your future date from some of your vendors. For example, due to COVID-19 international and state-based travel restrictions, florists are seeing a 30-50% increase to the wholesale price of flowers, and flower availability has been affected too. Unfortunately, florists may not be able to offer you the same prices quoted for your previous wedding date. Please ask this question of each of your vendors so that you can prepare your budget for your new date.
Please, please, please consider rescheduling to a weekday, and/or an off-peak month. Several months into this pandemic, vendors are now finding it increasingly difficult to facilitate new dates for every postponement, as well as every new enquiry. Something else to take into consideration when you reschedule to another weekend date in a peak month, the vendor not only loses income in the current financial period, but also loses the potential to earn new income in the next financial period”
PHOTOGRAPHER// Kelly Harwood Photography
Current Guidelines (As of 16th August 2020)
- All existing gathering limits and the 100/300 rule removed
- Gathering limits now only determined by WA’s reduced 2 square metre rule
- The 2 square metre rule will only include staff at venues that hold more than 500 patrons
- Removal of seated service requirements at food businesses and licensed premises
- No requirement to maintain patron register at food businesses and licensed premises
- Alcohol can be served as part of unseated service arrangements
- All events permitted except for music festivals
- Unseated performances permitted at venues such as concert halls, live music venues, bars, pubs and nightclubs
Find the full government guidelines here.
PHOTOGRAPHER// Paris Hawken Photography
Honeymoon & Travel
Currently as the Australian government stands all State borders are locked down and all overseas travel is prohibited unless deemed essential travel. If your honeymoon is booked overseas, we suggest postponing it. Many airlines and hotels are offering credit, so we suggest getting in touch as soon as possible.
Find the Travel Government Restrictions here
May we suggest a stay-cation in the South West or travel around and see the beautiful state that we live in. Western Australia has everything you need for a dream honeymoon and your business will be much appreciated by those in the community (especially those businesses listed on site)
Find Southwest Accommodation here
PHOTOGRAPHER// Kelly Harwood Photography
Future
Keep planning and don’t let this Coronavirus dampen your excitement! There will always be a point where Covid-19 will be a thing of the past and we will return back to some sort of normality so keep up the fun, however when planning and reaching out to suppliers and venues please ensure you know all the t & c’s. This is the time where the wedding industry needs you more than ever.
We hope you have found this blog post helpful for information on coronavirus affecting weddings in Western Australia and particularly the South West. If there are any topics we haven’t covered or questions you still have, please let us know. Stay safe!
PHOTOGRAPHER// Kelly Harwood Photography
We hope you have found this blog post helpful. If there is any topics we haven’t covered or questions you still have, please let us know.
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