We have drafted a letter to the NSW government on behalf of Businesses and Couples in the Wedding and Private Event Industry to have your voices heard.

Your weddings have been significantly impacted by COVID government restrictions and the future is unclear in terms of the NSW Roadmap and 50 guest limit.

Read the letter below and find out how you can help make an impact.

The Letter

Addressed to NSW State Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Health and Medical Research Minister Brad Hazzard on 23rd September 2021 on behalf of Wedding Couples and Businesses.

We thank you for your time and commitment to managing COVID safe practices in NSW and addressing issues specific to the Wedding and Private Event Market. 

BUSINESS: My business name is “ “ and it resides at (insert online or physical address or both). I operate in the Wedding market, and my business has been heavily impacted by the ongoing lockdowns and restrictions for the past 18 months. It has been excruciatingly difficult to navigate and impacted me and my family mentally, emotionally and financially. 

COUPLES: My name is X and my Partners name is Y. We have invested X amount of money in our Wedding, planning for X amount of guests. We have lost $X in postponements and need these restrictions lifted to proceed with our big day or we will lose $X in postponing our Wedding and simply cannot afford this. 

As it stands the restrictions in NSW are a maximum of 11 people can attend a Wedding service in Greater Sydney.

An announcement was made on September 9th sharing details of the roadmap once NSW hits the 70% double vaccinated target. The roadmap included ‘up to 50 guests can attend weddings, with dancing permitted and eating and drinking only while seated’. 

The latest announcement regarding the NSW roadmap will not assist my business, or this industry. We are not open with a 50 capacity ruling and in fact further impacted by this ruling, once again negotiating/or having to negotiate fees, changes and postponements.

Over 80% of Couples will not proceed with their Wedding until this restriction in numbers is eased. 

Businesses and Consumers understand the need for restrictions during this pandemic, however, the implications of this low capacity number, and uncertainty is driving apprehension in a market that is all about forward bookings and planning. This is not in line with the hospitality industry, which further frustrates and restricts my business and this market.

Wedded Wonderland* conducted a survey in 2020 to determine 

“The financial impact of Wedding Restrictions on Couples and Businesses”

Here are their findings:

(use stats relevant to you as Couple or Business Owner)

The impact on Couples;

In addition to the below, a potential loss of Service Providers (due to availability or otherwise), a potential loss of monies exchanged for a set date, and this again stems across multiple industries and categories that work within the Wedding industry.

1. The average couple in NSW has lost $11,672 to date in having to either cancel or postpone their Wedding
2. The average spend per Wedding in NSW for these Couples is $80,847
3. The number of guests on average for these Couples is 258 

The impact on Businesses;

For businesses, this means a staggering loss of income and potentially losing whatever bookings they currently have.

1. The number of Weddings booked for 2020 on average in NSW is 136 per business
2. Average value per client is $8,259
3. Number of Weddings or Wedding related events cancelled on average per business is 23
4. Total monies lost to date due to COVID cancellations or renegotiated quotes/invoices on average per business $179,178
5. Number of Weddings or Wedding related events postponed on average is 72 per business
6. Should postponed Weddings or Wedding related events not take place, the average loss of income per business is $1,366,607
7. The average number of staff lost due to COVID and Current Government Restrictions – 4.5 

Further, the active #saveourweddings Petition ‘Open the Wedding Industry in line with the Hospitality Industry in NSW’ stands at 9,166 entrants as of 24/9/21 with many questioning the confusing rulings around Weddings.

See here – https://chng.it/YZ6Pn2DrTC 

In light of the above findings, we are requesting the government to lift the 50 capacity ruling on Weddings in line with Hospitality at a 1/4sqm rule.

Weddings are hosted in controlled environments that have the following advantages over hospitality, pubs and clubs:

1. Guests are known to the hosts

2. Venues clean entire spaces between functions from napery, linen, cutlery, crockery, flooring, bathrooms and otherwise

3. The menu and food service have been altered to comply with COVID safe practices

4. Safety measures like sanitisation stations, temperature checklist, and keeping guests details, already implemented at other venues, are also working at Weddings

In conjunction with our request to re-introduce the 1/4 sqm ruling for Weddings in line with Hospitality, we are requesting PCR and/ or Antigen testing at all Wedding Venues to assist with Covid19 management. This will alleviate huge pressure on both Businesses and Couples in proceeding with their Weddings.

Thank you for your time, and for considering this incredibly important matter directly impacting my life and future.

Signature
Date

How You Can Help

If you want to make an impact and have your voice heard, email or post the letter to:

A. NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian: [email protected]
B. NSW Health, Bradley Hazzard: [email protected]
C. Deputy Premier, John Barilaro: [email protected]
D. How to Contact Your Local MP:

1. If you’re located in NSW, click here.
2. Enter your postcode in the ‘Postcode’ box and click ‘Search’.
3. Select your street name from the ‘Street’ box and click ‘Select’.
4. Confirm that the ‘District’ presented is your own, and click ‘View District Profile’. This will redirect you to a new page.
5. Scroll down to the ‘Parliamentary Representation’ section. Your MP is the first one on that timeline. Confirm this by checking that their ‘Date’ states ‘Present’.
6. Save your MPs name, and search it on Google along with the word ‘Contact’ (e.g. ‘John Smith Contact’).
7. Click on the first result.
8. Scroll down until you come across an email address – this should end in ‘@parliament.nsw.gov.au’.
9. Send your email to the above-mentioned email address.

Feel free to provide personal information where relevant in relation to specific losses of income and funds + the emotional/mental/financial toll these restrictions continue to have on Weddings.

Use the #saveourweddings across all communications.