'It's a nervous rush': Alberta wedding shops seeing flurry of customers

LETHBRIDGE -

After navigating ever-changing restrictions for more than a year, the race is on for couples eager to tie the knot in Alberta.

July 1 marks the first time since March 2020 that the province will no longer have any restrictions on both indoor and outdoor gatherings.

With Stage 3 of the province's Open for Summer plan set to come into effect Thursday, the wedding industry is booming in southern Alberta.

"Before, it was a lot of long-term planning of six months to a year in advance," said Flowers on 9th owner Sharon Ulrich.

"We would usually have time to figure things out like, where we're going to source the flowers from, but now it's just immediate."

Flower shops, bakeries, and wedding venues are all seeing the same thing — pent-up demand from couples who have put their big day on hold for far too long.

Now, many of those couples are champing at the bit to be first in line to say I do.

"People are calling and they're wanting to book for next Saturday, or the Saturday after. They're serious," said Norland Historic Estate wedding and event venue coordinator Alexandra Danylchuk.

"It's exciting for them too. It's a rush. It's a nervous rush sometimes."

Wedding planners and shop owners also pointed to the fact that many Albertans chose to elope during the pandemic and are only now beginning to plan their reception with friends and family.

The recent boost in customers couldn't come at a better time for Danylchuk who is also the off-site wedding and events coordinator for L.A. Chefs Catering and Events.

The company is finally, after more than a year of uncertainty and struggles, able to hire back some of the loyal employees they had to lay off several months ago.

"We're really excited to see a lot of those friendly faces come back because we know they're excited, and we're excited to see them," she said.

For SWIRL Custom Cakes and Desserts, the past few weeks have been a rush, but they're noticing a different trend from customers.

"Couples seem to be more focused on their love for one another and not so much on all the little details," said SWIRL founder and head cake designer Lynnette MacDonald.

"We're also getting a rush of smaller orders, as opposed to some of those big ones for around 700 people."

MacDonald adds that SWIRL isn't getting an abnormal amount of orders compared to previous year, but they al seem to be coming in at once which is keeping the shop busy.