37.6% of wedding suppliers do not expect to reach the end of the year if nothing changes. For florists, who often also provide flowers for other occasions, this applies to 10% of them. This information comes from research conducted by wedding platform ThePerfectWedding.nl among 1,300 wedding suppliers, including florists, wedding locations, photographers and wedding planners.
The sector already lost € 385 million in turnover
The Dutch wedding industry is currently missing € 385 million in turnover due to the corona crisis. That represents 56.8% of the total turnover of the sector in 2020.
Florists also miss out on the major part of their turnover this year. Until the end of 2020, they will have to survive with a 53.4% turnover loss due to postponed or cancelled weddings. In addition, businesses in wedding transport are incurring the highest turnover loss: 73.8%.
The missed turnover may increase even further this year. In many cases, bridal couples moved their wedding to a date in 2021, but weddings were also moved to the fall of 2020. The main reason for postponement is the social distancing requirement, staying 1.5 meters away from guests, a measure that will not disappear for the time being.
More than 100 guests possible at only 42% of the locations
Even though now, more guests are welcome at a wedding, only 42% of the venues can accommodate more than 100 guests while maintaining the minimum of 1.5 meters distance. 28% of the wedding and party venues can only accommodate less than 50 guests.
9 out of 10 suppliers need government support
Nearly nine out of ten of all wedding suppliers say that government support is needed to make ends meet (88.1%). Nevertheless, 47.2% of them expect to be in financial difficulties before the end of the year. The situation is particularly distressing for wedding photographers: 92.6% say they will not reach the end of the year even with the current government support.
In total, 19.8% of suppliers report that they are not eligible for government support. They have an SBI code for which government support is not made available, no own business premises or insufficient fixed costs.
How does the wedding industry get through this time?
Sarah Glasbergen, founder of ThePerfectWedding.nl, makes some suggestions that can now be of help to the wedding industry: "Wedding suppliers need to look, together with brides and grooms, for solutions how to turn a wedding into an unforgettable party particularly in this time!"
“Bridal couples can also help their suppliers by making an advance payment if they can afford it. I also see an important role for the government, because the current support measures appear to be insufficient to help the sector. If more attention can be given to this sector, in the same way as the catering industry, that will already be very helpful!”
Click here for more research results (in Dutch).