Oʻahu’s suspension of large gatherings is adding stress to an already struggling sector — the wedding industry.
Caterers and flower arrangements are being canceled, creating a lot of produce waste.
Wedding industry workers back on the job may face unemployment again.
Under Honolulu guidelines, groups of 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors are still allowed. But now couples have to decide who to cut from the guest list. The total count includes not only the guests but the bride, groom, and wedding staff.
Joseph Esser is the president of the Oʻahu Wedding Association, which includes caterers, planners, and photographers. He said 20-40% of O‘ahu weddings have been canceled since Monday.
"It’s phone call after phone call of brides breaking down and crying and our coordinators are crying. It’s really devastating," Esser told Hawaiʻi Public Radio.
He talked to HPR while driving to a wedding he was helping to coordinate. The couple had to change their plans at the last minute and divide their wedding into two segments to keep the crowds small.
"These are couples who heard our call last year and said, 'Now is not the right time to do a wedding,' and they postponed it. They did everything right. The wedding industry also did everything right. We’ve taken this COVID crisis so seriously. We’ve created all these additional protocols to keep our couples safe," Esser said.
He wishes there was more notice for the large gathering mandate and hopes unemployment benefits will be extended.
He said most couples are willing to have testing or vaccination requirements for their ceremony, but that is not an option during this 28-day suspension of large events.
The suspension of large organized events started Wednesday and runs through Sept. 22. It could be extended "based on current conditions and impacts to the medical providers," the city said.
Suspended events include conferences, trade shows, concerts, gatherings in connection with weddings and funerals, and ticketed sporting events, the city said.
