B.C. couples going into debt to get hitched: wedding planner

There’s been a shift in how people in B.C. are getting married, and one local wedding planner says it’s been negatively impacted by the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Everything is more expensive and those increases are creating a domino effect throughout the local wedding industry — a sector that’s still trying to bounce back from restrictions implemented during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alicia Keats is a Vancouver-based wedding planner. She says trends are changing as couples try to cut corners to save money.

“It’s definitely more expensive to get married. We’re still going through the ripple effect of everything that happened during the pandemic. So, along with the cost of food getting more expensive, floral costs have gone up. Labour is still hard to get, therefore, more expensive.”

She adds many who used to work in the industry left during the pandemic to find work elsewhere or left the province and moved to a less expensive region.

Keats explains even booking a venue is costly.

“I think because they’re having to balance the cost of labour being more and all of the costs that they’re including in their packages.”

She says booking accommodations is also more expensive after Vancouver welcomed back tourists and availability went down.

“Hotels are running at capacity because finally we can welcome people back to Vancouver so that increases the prices on rooms as well.”

Being on the frontlines, Keats is telling all of her couples to create a budget in the planning phase and stick to it. However, that’s not always possible in some cultures, where wedding festivities bring a lot of expectations and can last days.

“We do work with a huge variety of cultures and having a smaller wedding can be a challenge, because it’s not customary and can be seen as insulting, so making it a smaller wedding isn’t as simple as cutting the guest list. There’s a lot to navigate in that, for sure.”

Despite that, Keats says there is a movement towards smaller weddings.

“You can definitely stretch the budget a little bit more and have the elements that one might have prioritized in the day without having to do it for 200 or 300 people.”

She defines a smaller wedding these days as 50-80 people or as small as 20 people. Keats is also seeing more elopements.

She points out that those who can’t cut guests are sacrificing in other areas, including decor and floral arrangements.

Keats says food is generally a priority of her clients but some are being creative by timing the ceremony so people are offered appetizers but should not expect a full meal.

She didn’t offer how much weddings are generally costing right now, because every couple is different, but maintains there’s a flip side as some are willing to spend as much as $100,000 on their special day.

Keats says if you or someone you know is getting married and want to nail down some of the bigger costs, like food, go out to their favourite restaurant, order a couple of entrees, some drinks, add the tip, the tax and multiply that amount by the number of guests you want to invite.

“And then of course everything on top of that in terms of flowers, decor, music, wedding dress, officiant, etc.”

Keats says the key is to figure out what’s important to you, before saying “I do.”

“I can speak for my own wedding, identify what those are and that will help make decisions as you go along. For me, the guest experience was really important. We talked a little about the importance of eating food as a community and wanting the people who were coming to feel that intimacy and connection around food. Photography was really important to me.

“So, if you can identify what those are, it’s easier not to get tempted by things that are outside of the budget.”

Regardless of what your nuptials may set you back, Keats says try to take a moment and soak in your special day.