I do… not know what will happen

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This article was published 25/02/2021 (1149 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s a creeping feeling of defeat when Rhianna Saj thinks about planning one of the happiest days of her life.

Saj and her fiancé, who had planned to marry in August 2020, decided to push back their wedding a year when COVID-19 first surfaced in Manitoba last March.

“Many of our friends and family have been laid off, or they live out of province. Asking them to come during that time is a financial burden on them, too,” she said. “We just didn’t feel like it was a responsible decision medically, or responsible financially.”

At the time, it seemed an August 2021 wedding was a real possibility.

Fast-forward nearly a year and Saj remains uncertain. Under Manitoba’s current public health orders, the guest limit for weddings is only 10 people — and no one can predict what lies ahead.

Saj is not alone. Wedding venues and planners across the province are scrambling to figure out what they can offer couples, who have provided thousands of dollars in deposits for weddings that can’t go ahead as originally planned.

At The Gates on Roblin, event manager Nadine Magne has had to completely rethink wedding planning because of the ever-changing nature of the pandemic.

“We’re doing so many plans for the same couples, we’ll have a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C,” she said. “And that’s been really hard on us, where we’re having to work three times over for the same couples.”

Wedding contracts at The Gates are currently adjusted within a 10-week window, so alterations can be made if restrictions shift.

While The Gates isn’t currently collecting new deposits for future weddings, owing to the uncertainties of COVID-19, deposits already made are non-refundable — the same as they were pre-pandemic.

“We’re not monsters, we’re trying to work with the couples,” said Ray Louie, owner of The Gates. “But we do have to adhere to some form of the contract as we revise it based on what’s happening with the world to protect our business, to pay our overhead.”

Saj, who planned to get married at the Heritage Arts Centre in Stonewall, where she grew up, already expects to reschedule again.

And she’s not even sure if she could book for next year, with future bookings already taking up those spots.

“Last March, I didn’t really feel weird about it, because it was only going to be a year,” she said. “But now it’s like, if I’m not getting married this summer, and I’m not getting married next summer — what if these people go out of business?”

Saj guesses the couple has paid between $8,000-$10,000 in deposits and she believes it’s “inevitable” that she’ll lose at least some of the money, adding she’s sympathetic to the business owners struggling to stay afloat right now.

“I’m optimistic with the numbers, but I have no idea,” she said. “I think we need to wait a few more months to see what happens.”

Louie was critical of the province’s reopening strategy.

“No one is consulted on these regulations, the consultation that they talk about often is an untruth right at the broadcast of the actual statement,” he said. “I’m a member of the chamber (of commerce), I’m a member of the restaurant association, and we know that we were not consulted when they blatantly say they have consulted with industry.”

One local company has created a survey for engaged couples to gauge what they hope to get from the province on wedding rules.

“The wedding industry has been put to the side when it comes to these rules that are being released by the government, and I just feel like we have to get their attention,” said Linger Ann Aragon, the owner of event and wedding planning company Ann + Co.

The survey has already received more than 500 responses. Aragon recognizes weddings are not priority No. 1 during a public health crisis, but she hopes the survey will help in some way.

“(Respondents are saying) ‘we don’t care as much about what the rules are, we just want them to be consistent. If they’re consistent, we can properly guide our couples’,” she said.

Not every planner has been so accommodating, according to one Winnipeg mother.

Charleswood resident Angie Kazubek said she fears she’s out $2,000 after paying a local caterer for her son’s wedding, originally planned for August 2020.

Kazubek said she hasn’t been able to discuss a possible refund or rescheduling with the business owner, but acknowledged she didn’t sign a contract before paying the fee.

She said she never expected this to be part of helping her son plan a wedding.

“To me, personally, I feel like I have been robbed,” she said.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_