2021 to be year of the wedding boom after COVID put plans on hold
Thousands of wedding plans were ruined by last year’s lockdowns. The pent-up demand means 2021 is going to be the year to get hitched.
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Samantha Jade has been performing professionally since she was a toddler. Singing, dancing, acting and modelling too. The 33-year-old takes it all in her stride with nary a butterfly nor a sweaty palm. But walking down the aisle – as she’s set to do in the near future – well, that’s a whole different story.
“I’m completely confident performing,” says Samantha, who announced her engagement to Pat Handlin, son of Denis Handlin, CEO of Sony Music Australia, via Instagram in early 2019.
“But walking down the aisle and having everyone look at me …,” she trails off.
“It’s so personal. I’m pretty certain I’ll be an emotional wreck.”
Sammi, as she prefers to be called, has had plenty of time to think about that anxiety-inducing walk down to aisle thanks to Covid.
Almost two years has passed since Pat proposed, but getting hitched remains a tricky business with continually changing rules and regulations regarding numbers, guests who reside in so-called hot spots, the agreements around dance floor numbers (that is if you can have one) and so on.
Planning a wedding is even more complicated for Sammi and Pat given they want to exchange their vows in Perth, where Sammi grew up.
“We were working on specific dates and details, but then the border was closed,” explains Sammi.
“Occasionally we start replanning, but then Covid flares again.
“We don’t want to reschedule again and again, so we are going to wait it out.”
Sammi and Pat have chosen to hold off, but thousands of other couples are doing the exact opposite. In fact, 2021 is set to see a bridal boom.
Kate O’Shea, of bridal company The Wedding Series, says many couples were willing to reschedule when the pandemic first reared its ugly head, but they’re no longer so amenable.
“A huge number of couples rescheduled weddings last year and they just don’t want to do it again,” says Kate.
Kate is correct when she says ‘a huge number’. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, between January and June 2020, 37,813 marriages were registered by the end of August 2020. This represents close to a 40 per cent decrease when compared with the average number of marriages for the same six-month period in the past five years (55,492).
A significant decrease in the number of marriages began in late March, coinciding with the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions. Numbers of marriages remained low throughout April, May and June.
But now those couples are back and ready to say ‘I do’.
Since the beginning of the year, Kate’s company has been overwhelmed with inquiries regarding wedding packages with a particular focus on venues, which, she says are already proving hard to secure.
“Couples are scrambling to get bookings for 2021,” she says.
“Everything is booked out. Even midweek dates. There’s a definite rush. This is going to be the year of the wedding.”
That’s something Sammi is very aware of. And while she and Pat do not yet have a definitive date, they are making very concrete plans.
For example, she knows she wants her big day to be a simple affair with a small gathering of close family and friends only. She’s also 100 per cent certain she will not sing.
“I am definitely not performing,” she says firmly.
“No way … I am not working on my wedding day.”
And, she knows exactly what she’s going to wear.
Not long after Pat popped the question, Sammi reached out to her best friend to share the happy news. That best friend just happens to be Jules Sebastian, wife of singer Guy Sebastian and conveniently enough, a highly-respected stylist.
Jules was delighted at her mate’s news, but what she really wanted to talk about was the details. Specifically, what Sammi was going to wear on her big day.
“Jules said, ‘We need to talk about the dress and now’,” recalls Sammi with a laugh.
“I was like ‘Oh my god. I don’t even have a venue yet, or even a date’. Covid is happening. It’s all going to have to wait … but Jules said, ‘That doesn’t matter – we NEED to talk about the dress’ and so she booked a meeting with designer Steven Khalil that very day.”
Steven Khalil, for the uninitiated, is the designer of choice for many of Sydney and Hollywood’s elite. He has dressed everyone from former WAG turned lifestyle guru Kyly Clarke to singer/ actor Jennifer Lopez and even reality TV star and beauty mogul Kylie Jenner. On several occasions he has whipped up creations for Sammi.
The entertainer is a huge fan of Steven’s opulent, extravagant and ‘deeply flattering’ pieces making him an obvious choice for her big day. And thankfully, Jules approved too.
“He is a genius,” exclaims Sammi.
“He’s incredible – in every respect.
“His creations are so much more than just dresses. He intrinsically knows how to dress a woman.”
On the day of our shoot, which took place in Steven’s newly revamped Paddington atelier, Sammi slipped into two very different bridal gowns – both of which were a silvery blue, a hue Steven says is blowing up in 2021, with many brides bucking tradition and instead opting for something modern in feel.
The easiest way to create that updated effect – skip white and instead wear colour. But that’s not the only bold move Covid brides are opting for.
“I’m also seeing a greater focus on heavily detailed and embellished veils and less embellishment/beading on the actual bridal gown,” explains Steven.
“There is definitely a move towards a more modern edge.”
Designer Alison Davis, whose current collection is available at Marry Me Bridal in Mosman, loves that today’s brides are mixing it up.
“I love a wedding gown designed in a colour or even a beautiful print,” she says.
“It’s a non-traditional option which can be both elegant and beautiful.”
Kate O’Shea agrees saying 2021 weddings are all about personalisation. She’s currently working with brides who are opting for gowns in mint, silver, blush and baby blue.
She is seeing other changes too, many of them driven by Covid.
“Thanks to Covid, couples can’t necessarily have the number of guests they originally planned on,” she explains.
“But instead of cutting their budgets or rescheduling again, they’re instead investing in personalised experiences. Guest numbers are smaller, but the details are next level. We’re talking manicures and pedicures for all, champagne vending machines on the day and significant gifts for everyone who attends.”
Kate is also seeing brides organising personally monogrammed napkins as mementos for guests, pouring money into elaborate buck’s and hen’s weekends away and investing in elaborate magazine-style photographic shoots.
“Guest numbers are dropping back due to Covid, but many couples still want to get married now rather than wait,” says Kate.
“So rather than have a huge guests list they’re having smaller numbers but going all out with luxurious details and accessories.”
Sammi and Pat have other plans, however.
Both are focused on simple yet significant details such as their vows, their commitment to one another and, of course, Sammi’s ability to walk down the aisle without falling apart. Yes, she’s anxious but Sammi remains tremendously excited about getting married to the man she loves.
“To be honest, I can’t wait,” she says.
“I genuinely feel like we’re already married but it will be lovely to make a formal commitment to one another in front of our friends and family and be the official wife of the man I I love.”
So the event will be small. Sammi will not entertain. Steven will design the gown. And it will look like? Truth is the singer does have thoughts, but she’s keeping them to herself for now. She wants her day to be special. That means private and so, she’s not about to share gown details. She will say this, unlike current trends, she plans on wearing white.
“I want my wedding to be very traditional,” she says.
Saying the words out loud makes her emotional.
“I do wonder how will I feel when I actually put my wedding dress on …,” she explains.
“I am such a crier and I know the makeup artist will be going to kill me because I will be crying and crying and they will have to touch up my makeup constantly.
“It will be a beautiful moment – a moment I’ve been thinking about my whole life.”
Originally published as 2021 to be year of the wedding boom after COVID put plans on hold
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