Today is the 90th day since Christmas and in those 12 weeks (well just over) a lot has changed. This blog is about thinking a little further in advance, trying to anticipate as much as possible about what may happen so that I am able to offer advice and tips to the people who have booked me and of course, potential customers.
Contained in this blog
~ Why weddings will be more expensive
~ What you can do about it
~ What I am offering
Why Weddings will be more expensive?
No I must admit that I am not an expert but it seems relatively straight forward to me. It may even be considered as simple economics, supply and demand, there will be more competition for dates (for venues) and good wedding providers so the cost goes up?! According to the office of National Statistics, approximately 80,000 people get married in Wales each year. Due to the corona virus outbreak, a significant proportion of these are now having to move dates, cramming them into next year which has a knock on impact on the year after and so on.
All of the people who provide good wedding services will be re-arranging this years couples to the end of the year or next year (lots of couples seem to be doing this) which is taking up all the available dates. I speak to lots of providers regularly and one wedding photographer told me that he cannot take any new bookings for next year because he is unsure how long this situation will continue and therefore how many couples he needs to help re-arrange.
I have spoken to couples that are considering a wedding on a Monday because In some venues, it is literally all they have available until early next year. Some couples that are having to move their wedding day, are even being advised to have a plan B & C!
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Please forgive me if this sounds a little out there but you can hire people now! Obviously you do not have to, many people are struggling or face uncertain times and for some, this will not be an option. For the others, this is why it is a good idea.....
Hiring a provider now will ensure you get a their current prices and they may even be more inclined to do you a slightly better deal because of the situation. The global situation has hit the small businesses massively with some people losing their livelihood almost overnight, bookings at this time would really help them out and support them to maintain their businesses.
Many of the wedding providers that are available to hire won’t be ’all day’ meaning they will provide a service at your wedding for a short period, these include
-singers
-bands
-magicians (of course)
- ice cream
-garden games
-photo booths
In many weddings there are numerous slots where these type of providers could fit in. This means that there is more of a chance that they will be available for your big day.
Caution
I think there are some things that you do need to consider and ask of the providers. It may seem obvious but the main question you should ask is, if your wedding has to be re-arranged, what Is the situation regarding re-scheduling?
What have I done for the people who have booked me?
As soon as I started to realise that this may have an impact i began advising people to get wedding insurance. I still feel that this is something you should have, (I discussed this in my last blog here), you may not get it for the next few months but who knows how long this will go on for, be covered.
When it became apparent that the corona virus would have an impact upon weddings I wrote to all the couples who had booked me for the coming few months and stated if they need to re-arrange their wedding, I would not charge anything extra. I have done this for 12 couples already! The second lot of emails will be going out shortly but if you have concerns or any questions, please feel free to contact me.
WHAT AM I OFFERING?
To be completely honest, I am not offering anything I would not usually offer. The only difference really will probably be my availability.
Well what is the point of this section? It's a fair question I guess.
The point is that I pride myself on delivering a high quality service that provides great value for money, from the point of booking to beyond the performance.
If you are considering hiring me I ask for the following
~ £50 deposit
~ Completion of my online booking form
~ The balance is due 14 days before the date of performance. If you need to move your date then the balance is due 14 days before the new date.
~Everything is online, meaning you get automatic copies of booking forms and receipt of payments.
If you have any issues of questions then please do feel free to contact me at info@jameshawkermagic.co.uk or through any of my social media channels.