Press Release: Wedding operators call for clarity over the 1st of June potential restart

“The wedding sector needs to know which factors will determine whether or not weddings will be able to take place”

The wedding sector has been hit very hard by Covid. The industry and the couples getting married have been living through a wave of great uncertainty with continuous postponements and cancellations of weddings since the start of the pandemic.

This sector has been recently closed once again exactly when the 2021 wedding season was due to start, in line with the heightened Covid restrictions. This meant that all weddings booked for March, April and May – three of the most important months during which this sector to work in – could not be held.

This served a devastating blow to the sector, which was already in an extremely vulnerable state, following the impact Covid had on their 2020. Apart from mass disruption, this sector had to invest further to comply with the restrictions and stay constantly updated and stocked for when weddings restart. The SME Chamber is currently in active discussions with the authorities to mitigate the impact of the great damage this sector has suffered.

It should be noted that a wedding is not like any gathering. Apart from the fact of having many strict guidelines to adhere to, weddings are very important for the healthy functioning of our society. They represent among the most important of days for the couples and their close relatives and friends. Weddings are important milestones for our families and within our society.

Looking forward, what is known so far in the public domain is that there is a potential that weddings might be allowed to take place as of 1st of June. This uncertainty has once again landed weddings into chaos, not having any parameters to base upon from 1st of June onwards.

The wedding sector needs to know which factors will determine whether or not weddings will be able to take place.

During the period weddings were allowed to take place last year, covid cases fluctuated and there was no vaccine in sight yet. The experience the health authorities have gained during 2020 should enable them to set out a clear plan of what will be acceptable and not under the Covid circumstances known to all.

By the 1st of June Malta will be even closer in reaching herd immunity and therefore this should give greater reassurance to the health authorities that the situation can be planned for and managed.

The health authorities are being asked clearly to disclose what is the determining factor on which they will base their green light or otherwise on.

With just over a month away from the 1st of June, with so much planning that goes into a wedding, wedding suppliers and their couples cannot be left in this precarious situation.