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Overseas travel bans, closed state borders and restrictions on public gatherings are putting weddings into disarray with online bookings company Oneflare reporting a 43 per cent drop in wedding jobs in Victoria resulting from the second wave of lockdowns during early July.

Oneflare CEO, Mr Billy Tucker said while they were still seeing a 13 per cent increase in wedding jobs in NSW since the lockdown eased last month, the latest rule limiting groups in pubs to 10 people, together with a growth in new cases, means we are likely to see NSW follow Victoria as brides are once again forced to find a different venue, re-schedule or postpone altogether.

“Planning a wedding is extremely difficult in these times but many vendors are extremely understanding as they know how disappointing it can be for couples to re-schedule their big day. If you have booked but now need to postpone, we advise you to speak with your suppliers. Many are waiving cancellation fees and offering flexible re-booking terms to help brides re-schedule.”

Bride-to-be Anna Chong from Sydney was due to get married in May this year but decided to postpone to May 2021.

“Wearing masks, not being able to hug and kiss, dance or have our friends and family come from overseas and celebrate with us – this wasn’t how we wanted our wedding to be and so we are glad we have postponed,” she said.

Wedding planner and director of JK&Co Events, Jennifer Kennedy, said destination weddings had been particularly hard hit with bookings dropping off drastically because of border closures.

“Victoria is currently off-limits and Victorian brides will be unable to plan Interstate weddings for the foreseeable future. If you want a destination wedding, you would be best to hold off until late next year.” For those couples still wishing to go ahead, Jennifer recommended a COVID-safe destination wedding close to home:

Here’s her advice:

Location location – with frequent changes to borders, start by looking at venues within your own state to prevent being stranded Interstate or having to quarantine before returning home. There are so many stunning locations here in Australia: the East coast offers sensational areas – islands, coastal, mountains, beaches. We have great snow-topped mountains for those who want a winter wonderland style wedding. If you’re feeling disappointed about not being able to marry overseas, think of the positives: any experience you want overseas, you can have here. There’s also less red-tape, as in some countries, you may not legally marry or you’ll have to stay for a while prior to the wedding to lodge the documents in person for the ceremony. There’s less time travelling and lower travel costs, plus you don’t need to adjust to different time zones, making an Australian wedding a lot more affordable and a lot less hassle. You can always book a holiday to your chosen destination when restrictions start to ease.

Styling – your Australian destination wedding can look and feel any way you wish and you don’t need a huge budget to style your wedding. Whether you want a Balinese style beach wedding or a traditional country wedding, it’s all achievable. Along with styling (floral, decor, chairs, tables, linen etc), you can also theme your wedding with the food and dress code of your choice to create an authentic and immersive experience for you and your guests. The great thing about destination weddings are the other events that surround the wedding such as the rehearsal dinner, recovery BBQ etc which make them so much fun and instead of your wedding being a 6-8 hour event, it becomes a beautiful 2-3 day event that you and your guests will never forget.

Billy Tucker CEO Oneflare

Elusive Elopement – I think new trend emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic will be super beautiful elopements – just you and your partner but with all the bells and whistles…flowers, gown, photographer, musician, video (to email to your friends!) I believe this will get the wedding out of your system and rather than compromising, you are changing the plan altogether. Once done, you’ll have a sensational Australian honeymoon and begin your married life with a property purchase and starting a family (and saving money on not having that big wedding with all of your guests!)

Bridal Waltz – right now although the bride and groom are allowed to dance, we are advising they avoid the dancefloor completely to prevent guests from being tempted to join them. However, couples can pre-record their special dance and play it on the day or you can consider playing a special piece of music for guests to listen to and enjoy a ‘stay in your seat dance.’

Get Insurance – it’s worth having insurance in place for your special day in case of unexpected events such as an accident, illness, or unexpected weather. This means that the wedding can still go ahead at a later date without losing all of the money you have spent – insurance brings peace of mind which is so important, particularly during these uncertain times.

Leyna Kökényesy and her husband Kirill Charonov from Hunter’s Hill in Sydney had an intimate destination wedding on a private estate in the Hunter Valley and recommend any couple still wishing to do the same, to go ahead: “Take that big budget you were going to spend on over 100 guests and re-invest it into the décor, the styling, the venue and the photography. Share the images and video with your friends. Although your wedding may be different than you planned, you can still achieve the most amazing wedding, and create cherished memories which will last a lifetime.”