Almost every wedding planning couple who contacts me about availability for their 2022 wedding at the moment starts with ‘I don’t suppose you’re still available for XX date?’

The reason for the ‘… don’t suppose’ part is they’ve discovered availability of wedding suppliers is tricky at the moment. The wedding industry is playing catch from all the postponements and people who delayed weddings from 2020 and 2021, which means that we are booked out a lot more than usual.

Is It Really That Bad?

I wouldn’t say it’s ‘bad’ but I will say it’s busy. This year I will conduct more weddings than I have ever conducted in any other year. And, as I have spoken about before in some of my posts, Celebrancy isn’t just about delivering a ceremony. I would spend approximately 15 hours for each ceremony, including admin, travel, liaison, etc. This is in no way a complaint, but it does mean that you may find your wedding suppliers aren’t as quick to respond, or as communicative as they usually would be.

Okay, so what do I need to consider?

There’s a few things you can do to find your perfect wedding suppliers, and still have a 2022 wedding.

• Book as far in advance as is feasible. This will help you feel less panicked or disheartened when you receive lots of ‘Sorry, already booked’ responses from suppliers (or no response at all).
• When you make an enquiry with a supplier, give as much detail as possible: venue, time, date, etc. This will help the supplier know straight away whether they are free or not.
• Consider a weekday wedding. From July to the second week in November, I am booked every Saturday, with Fridays and Mondays being next in popularity. This doesn’t mean that you can’t get married on a Saturday (sometimes it can work with timings) but it does mean you’ll be much more limited with choice.
• Choose an ‘out of season’ wedding. As mentioned above, July to beginning of November are the busiest times (as well as April), and so you’ll have more choice going out of season. If you do go down this route, consider the comfort of your guests. Read this blog post to help with this.
• If you’re finding its taking up too much of your time to find available suppliers, consider using a wedding planner, such as Storybook and Co., The Other Bridesmaid, Til Death Events, or Warrior Rose. I promise you, it’s worth every cent to alleviate you from some of the stress.
• Wait till 2023. Yes, I know… this is an obvious suggestion, but things will have calmed down by then. I only have a handful of postponements left to deliver, and I know 2023 is going to be quieter for me.
• If you contact a supplier, and they’re booked, ask them if they know of anyone who might be available. I always ask my celebrant friends who is available, and provide the enquirer with their details.

And finally…

Wedding planning should be fun. If you’re not enjoying it, take a break from it. Ask for help, from friends, suppliers you have already locked in, family members, and anyone else who offers.