<\/span><\/h3>\nWith weddings, vacations and other celebrations rescheduled due to Covid, and everyone clamoring to get back out there as soon as possible, many venues and vendors in the city are booked well in advance \u2014 more than ever before.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things I encourage couples is maybe we get your invites out a little early \u2014 maybe earlier than standard etiquette. Ask the people in your wedding party immediately to be in the wedding and the VIPs who really matter to make sure they don\u2019t have a date conflict,\u201d Lampp says.<\/p>\n
Belsome says booked vendors and venue unavailability has made couples consider non-weekends for their big celebrations.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are more open to Thursday and Sunday weddings,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you ask any venue, they have weddings Monday through Sunday. Sunday weddings are becoming more common just because people are more open to those dates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supply chain issues impact wedding floral budgets, change reception format<\/p>\n
Lampp says couples are finding that florists are feeling the strain of supply chain issues with fresh blooms. Floral orders fly internationally on commercial airlines. In New Orleans, florals typically come from South America, where political unrest and fewer people traveling internationally has lead to substantially higher costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cA wedding that you planned in 2019 \u2026 you can basically triple that cost of florals to now,\u201d she says. \u201cFive thousand dollars doesn’t really get you a lot of flowers today. The floral vendors that I work with are now requiring $5,000-$10,000 minimums because their costs increased so greatly.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a result, some couples are considering having cocktail receptions over a seated dinner to save costs with fewer tables needing decor, Lampp says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have 200 people and you have to seat all of them, that’s more tables and more decor, so when we lean toward the cocktail-style and you do half that amount of decor, that definitely helps couples. They are much more conscious of how they can repurpose their floral budget for, say, an amazing floral alter or a floral wall,\u201d Lampp says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s really asking, \u2018What is the moment you want with the budget?\u2019 Three years ago, you could be a little bit more loosey-goosey with these things.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story appeared in the July 19 issue of Gambit in the Bride + Groom special section<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n