CINCINNATI, Ohio — As the coronavirus pandemic continues and social gatherings are limited in size and in distancing, the wedding industry has experienced an understandable slowdown as well as a cultural shift.


What You Need To Know

  • As COVID continues,  the wedding industry has experienced an understandable slowdown as well as a cultural shift

  • According to the 2020 WeddingWire Newlywed Report, couples hire an average of 15 wedding professionals — like a venue, caterer, florist, DJ, photographer, etc. — to create their special day

  • Many vendors have to find entrepreneurial ways to adjust to the COVID culture. Each wedding feeds a web of businesses —from caterers and photographers, to florists and entertainers

  • Couples, too, have been forced to adjust with the times. Many are now having to choose between delaying their nuptials and finding new ways to wed

Those in the wedding industry have always touted it as being “recession-proof,” saying that people will always get married and they will always have weddings.

However, as we’ve since seen, the stronghold wedding industry is certainly not “pandemic-proof.”

“It’s been really hard for photographers,” said Megan Noll with Megan Noll Photography. “It’s a 25th of my income when something gets canceled or rescheduled, so for me, it’s been really challenging.”

Noll recently had three cancellations all in one day — and as payments are pushed back and sessions are cancelled, revenue is lost without a choice.

“There’s kind of like that tiptoe line that I don’t want to punish them and I want to do what makes them feel safe, but I also need to put some food in my kid's mouth. It’s a weird balance and I’m the bad guy, or at least that’s how I feel,” Noll told us.

According to the 2020 WeddingWire Newlywed Report, couples hire an average of 15 wedding professionals — like a venue, caterer, florist, DJ, photographer, etc. — to create their special day.

In light of the rapid changes within the wedding industry, we went to the country’s largest bridal district located in Reading, Ohio.

There are 44 wedding-related businesses in the Reading Bridal District, all within about two miles from each other. However, you might be surprised that many of them hang a ‘closed’ sign on their doors.

We talked with many shop owners in Reading and they said the "closed" signs do not mean that their business has closed — it just means that now they have taken most of their business online.

Take for instance, Kelly Hill, the owner of Lace Bridal Couture in Reading, Ohio.

She had nine straight years of success at her location until this past spring, when they had no choice but to close their doors for eight weeks and let most of their employees go.

Since Lace Bridal Couture reopened, Hill says that almost every single Saturday and Sunday have been booked. There’s a reason behind the numbers — Hill said that they’ve switched up their services to adjust with the times.

“We have a lot more requests now to do virtual appointments and we’re fine with it because we know that they don’t feel it’s safe to come out,” Hill said.

Customers of Lace Bridal Couture can now pick out their gowns via Facetime, and within hours it’s delivered to their doorstep. Hill has even nicknamed it, "Bridal Door-Dash."

“Every single bride that we did virtual appointments with said yes to their dress from home and now we are actually seeing an increase in more virtual appointments,” said Hill.

Couples, too, have been forced to adjust with the times. Many are now having to choose between delaying their nuptials and finding new ways to wed.

“The most important thing is that we just want to get married, so we just had to change plans pretty quickly,” said Jennifer Vogt, whose recent wedding was impacted by COVID-19.

Vogt and her husband, John, went the virtual route by marrying over Zoom with only a handful of guests — a far cry from the 250 guests initially invited. “They weren’t right there in the room, but they were still a part of our day.”

The act of marrying also proved itself adaptable with Brett Fields and his wife, Tivoli.

“The biggest thing for us was just the uncertainty of not knowing if we would be able to keep our friends and family safe,” Tivoli explained.

They were determined to keep their designated date and tied the knot in a very COVID-appropriate way — outdoors with their only guests being photographers who stood six feet away.

“The video of us really captures our love story 100 percent,” said Brett Fields, referring to a YouTube video he and his wife put together to share with their loved ones who couldn’t be at their wedding.

Now, love stories across the country are having to be rewritten as COVID-19 continues. But as words from one of the most popular wedding passages says: “Love is patient.”