'2020 wedding season is a lost year': Vendors bracing for economic impact of pandemic

Wedding photographer Phonse King says he likes to be busy with his business year-round.

"Our goal is to never have downtime," said the Conception Bay South business owner.

King's Photography and More has been around for the past 15 years. It does an array of photography, video and audio work — from weddings and outdoor portraits during the summer months, to indoor photos and Christmas shoots at its studio in Conception Bay South.

But the pandemic has brought that packed schedule to an abrupt halt. King also had to lay off his handful of employees.

"All weddings have been cancelled, all our corporate events have been cancelled, our grads have been cancelled.… So we have completely stopped working," he said.

"Things don't look good for somebody who relies on social gatherings and large groups for an income."

Pandemic public health measures in Newfoundland and Labrador have started to loosen. On May 11, the province moved to Alert Level 4, allowing gatherings at weddings of up to 10 people.

The province is expecting to move to Alert Level 3 on June 8, which will increase that limit to 20.

But King said most of his clients have already opted to reschedule their ceremonies to 2021 and 2022.

Rebooking those couples for future dates, he said, brings about issues for this year's empty wedding schedule.

Those dates are now dates that we can't work other events. So they're gone.- Phonse King

"The 2020 wedding season is a lost year," he said.

It's time, he said, that he's not working — and time he won't get back.

King estimates his business's gross income from cancelled events between the end of March to the end of September would have amounted to about $55,000.

"It's a lot of money. And it's lost money," he said.

"Because even though a lot of our clients have said that they're going to have their galas and their graduations at a later date … that means that those dates are now dates that we can't work other events. So they're gone."

Bracing for tough times

The pandemic also forced Rodney Philpott Designs, a downtown St. John's store that specializes in bridal and prom dresses, to close its doors to customers at the end of February.

"We've been in business for 28 years, so we saved for a rainy day," owner Christopher Philpott told CBC News. 

Philpott said the business has already weathered many storms, from the financial crisis of 2008 and SARS, to moving the business from Toronto to Newfoundland — so he said they were lucky to be prepared.

"We've cashed in RRSPs to help with the bills and help with expenses that still continue to go on when sales disappear," he said.

Philpott agrees the 2020 wedding season is lost.

"We're going to have two years of zero growth — this year for the pandemic, where we're being shut down, where people can't come in to shop and can't come in to get their weddings organized," he said. 

"And next year, we're going to be zero growth again because all the brides that were scheduled for 2020, they've moved themselves to 2021. This is not going to allow us to take on any new business for 2021, because all of the times have already been occupied."

He said 85 per cent of their brides have moved their dates — and their business with the store — to 2021.

For their existing clients who are still getting married, he said, they're offering curbside services. The bride-to-be picks up the dress from the store, tries it on at home, and then gets on a video chat.

"We talk about how it fits, and they usually have someone with them that can help them, letting us see how it's fitting on the bride," he said.

The designer takes notes, and the bride-to-be then drives the dress back to their shop, so they can make the alterations, and repeat the process.

"It's not perfection, but it's working," he said.

Philpott said they're preparing to open the shop on Monday, but if the province doesn't proceed with Alert Level 3, they will continue with their curbside service.

Unable to offer refunds

While several clients have asked for refunds, Philpott said, the store has had to find some middle ground.

"We can't afford that. We're in no position to do that," he said. 

"We've found creative ways for our clients to use their deposits and to move that business to other years or to other services."

He said customers are generally happy that they're not losing their deposits but he knows not all of them are satisfied.

King said the issue of refunds is an issue for many business owners right now.

"Most of the people that are working within the wedding industry are small businesses — like, the definition of small business. And there is no money to give back," he said. 

"The money that was put down for a deposit or retainer, that's considered income. And most people, myself included, we use that to operate the business. It's not like it's put into a second account with somebody's name put on it and it's held there until the wedding date."

King said his clients would have signed a contract before they made pre-payments or paid deposits for his business's services.

"The contracts say … payments are non-refundable. And they're non-refundable for just that reason: they go into the income of the business," he said.

"It's unfortunately the old saying: it's not personal, it's business. The money, it's just not there to give back."

Trying to stay optimistic

King, meanwhile, said he's exploring his options for the short term. But he said he remains optimistic the pandemic will pass.

"I know [my business is] going to continue in some form. What that form is going to be, I don't 100 per cent know yet," he said. 

"I am King's Photography, so as long as I own a camera and a computer, I can conduct the work. But I may have to find… alternate employment in the time being until King's Photography can be back up to having a number of employees and shooting every weekend."

Meanwhile, Philpott said he and his fellow vendors can take solace in the fact that the wedding industry won't disappear.

"People [will] still want to have weddings," he said. 

"It's just for everyone right now, we need to get through this year — which is going to be painful."

This coverage is part of Changing Course, a series of stories from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador that's taking a closer look at how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting local industries and businesses, and how they're adapting during these uncertain times to stay afloat.

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