Coffs Harbour wedding industry reels as 2021 shapes as a tough year

Planning to get married this year? You won’t be alone as industry forced to balance bookings and burnout.

Marriage celebrant Alison Bartlett has had to juggle wedding cancellations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and then the floods. Though some couples power through the wet weather. Photo: Simon Whittaker / En Vogue Wedding Photography.

Wedding photographer Nicola Bodle says 2020 was tough, but as postponed events cram her schedule she now has to balance both the books and burnout as the impact lingers.

It’s no secret the wedding industry struggled last year, but with couples rescheduling events that have already been paid for, some businesses will have to make tough decisions to keep cash flow coming in.

Ms Bodle said already some couples have postponed two or three times in the course of the last year and the Bellingen-based photographer likened the impact to a ripple effect, with potential repercussions years down the line.

She said people may not realise 2021 was shaping up as a tough year because so many people booked and paid upfront, leaving businesses having to juggle last year’s backlog against new bookings to pay the bills.

“This year is going to be the hardest, we have so much work to do.”

“Do I focus on work booked and paid for last year (with little income) or do twice the amount of work and risk burnout?”

Nicola Bodle's Bellingen-based wedding photography business Fox & Kin has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: Fox & Kin

Ms Bodle said she intended to find a balance and do “about 50 per cent” more weddings this year while potentially receiving less income.

Adding to the challenge was the summer’s torrential rainfall and snap lockdowns like that which occurred in Brisbane in late March, with business owners having to “draw a line” with regards to the number and length of reschedules.

Marriage celebrant Alison Bartlett said she had 18 weddings cancelled last year, with one Port Macquarie couple looking to marry in Coffs Harbour postponing twice before their wedding venue was shut down.

Their fourth attempt closer to home at Port Macquarie nearly didn’t go ahead as the region experienced once-in-a-generation floods.

Ms Bartlett said when it came to rebookings, she was lucky she could focus on those who had to postpone because it wasn’t her sole income.

Port Macquarie couple Kate and Mitch cancelled their Coffs Harbour wedding twice because of Covid, then their venue shut down so they decided to get married in Port Macquarie. On their fourth try it flooded and they didn't think it would go ahead. Luckily they were married at Sails Resort. Photo: The Photo Trail

“Between the flooding and Covid it has been fairly hectic,” Ms Bartlett said.

“I have had a very big backlog, I was heartbroken for my couples but I didn’t take any new bookings until I had everyone rescheduled for this year.”

With around 70 per cent of Ms Bartlett’s bookings coming from out of town, the impact would also be felt across the region, with some interstate bookings cancelled all together.

“Lots of people in Victoria couldn’t come and we had to transfer to other celebrants down there.”

“I also marry a lot of people from out west, couples who have no link to the area come for what they call a ‘destination wedding’.

“Then they often come back to Coffs every year. I run into brides and grooms from all around Australia (in Coffs Harbour), it creates a lot of recurring business for the hospitality and tourism industry.”