Hundreds of thousands of business owners and engaged couples have been left angered as the government once again bans weddings and fails to provide a plan for reopening, timetable for review of the current restrictions, or sufficient financial support for businesses.
On 16th January 2021, UK wedding campaign group What About Weddings are asking anyone planning a wedding or who works within the industry to turn their social media feeds pink, to stand up for weddings. They also ask for friends and family to show their support and stand up for weddings, engaged couples, suppliers and venues.
The UK wedding industry is worth more than £14bn to the UK economy every year, and is serviced by approximately 150,000 businesses with over 400,000 workers employed in the sector every year. A great proportion of these businesses are headed by female entrepreneurs and yet again, the government has been criticised for dismissing a sector heavily populated by women. Weddings impact millions of people in every corner of the country every year and they creates millions of memories in the hearts and minds of people in every part of society. Having lost 2020 to the pandemic, couples and businesses are now seeing 2021 slip through their fingers. Businesses teeter on the edge of collapse and couples report sky-rocketing stress levels as both groups are left in the dark.
In most countries weddings are still heavily restricted or banned from taking place due to restrictions in place around the Covid19 pandemic. In the UK, the wedding industry has been closed in all but name since March 2020 without any meaningful or targeted financial support. Couples have once again been told they cannot get married and have been left without any plan in place for when this restriction will be lifted.
What About Weddings, led by campaign managers Annabel Beeforth (Love My Dress), Tamryn Settle (Wild & Oak) and Jessie Westwood (Studio Sorores), is asking the government for financial support and guidance on reopening.
“We must not lose our talent. We must not lose livelihoods. We must not forget the importance of love and commitment in society.” - official What About Weddings statement.
“It’s easy to dismiss weddings as frivolous events but that’s a fundamental misunderstanding of what they are and what they mean, to couples, to businesses, to the economy and to society as a whole,” says wedding celebrant Tamryn Settle, who is part of the campaign led by industry professionals to shine a light on the current issues surrounding weddings.
The What About Weddings campaign demands a roadmap for the industry with a clear plan for recovery and protection of many thousands of livelihoods and jobs, clarity for couples, and a fiscal package to support the wedding sector who have lost almost an entire year of work already.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Embargo until 10pm Friday 15th January 2020.
‘Stand Up For Weddings’ will hit social media from 8am on Saturday 16th January 2020. Couples and businesses alike will all be posting the same image and sharing their stories. Follow the hashtag #whataboutweddings to view.
The What About Weddings team are available for comment and interview.
#whataboutweddings campaign contacts:
Jessie Westwood - Director of Studio Sorores (Planning, Design & Floristry): info@studiosorores.com - 07940048885
Tamyrn Settle - Wedding Celebrant & Senior Writer at Love My Dress: tamrynlawrence@gmail.com - 07876 214597