With restrictions on weddings starting to ease, bookings are beginning to ramp up for a Dubbo event planner.
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Couples had to either cancel or postpone their weddings earlier in the year as the government enforced strict measures of a five person limit to curb COVID-19.
This was changed to 20 people at the beginning of June, but from July, 1 the maximum number of people who may attend a wedding is the maximum number of people allowed on the premises, which is one person per four square metres.
Tara Taylor, who owns and operates Taylormade Weddings and Events said during the initial stages of COVID restrictions she and her team were busy moving clients wedding dates to later in the year and even next year.
"Which proved to be a difficult task as our end of year was already heavily booked but we managed to make it work for all our clients," she explained.
"Unfortunately, some events such as baby showers and birthdays had to be cancelled and not re-booked.
"It was such a heartbreaking time to see my clients only weeks out from their special day having to postpone everything with the uncertainty of when things would be back to some normality."
Ms Taylor said they found that there was a dramatic decline in all enquiries and bookings during the initial stages of COVID.
"It wasn't until the first lot of restrictions were lifted that enquiries and bookings started rolling in again," she said.
"It was literally like a flick of a switch. I think with it being such an uncertain time a lot of people held back on future planning of their wedding and events."
Ms Taylor has pivoted her business to align with the new health rules, including moving face-to-face client consultations to online or over the phone and implementing stricter cleaning policies.
"We have hand sanitiser readily on hand to ensure myself, my staff and clients are safe. We have increased our cleaning regime and have implemented higher grade cleaning products to ensure our equipment is thoroughly cleaned," she said.
I think with it being such an uncertain time a lot of people held back on future planning of their wedding and events.
- Tara Taylor
Despite all of the uncertainty, Ms Taylor said she has tried to look at the situation in a positive light for the business and that it has opened her eyes in many ways.
"I have realised that it is okay to stop and take a minute to stand back, look at life and the business," she said.
During the downtime the team at Taylormade Weddings and Events utilised the opportunity to update current resources, such as the equipment hire list to and finishing the final touches to the storeroom.
But the most exciting thing for the business owner was building a flower studio in time for wedding season to kick off in September.
"This is a new service that has been in the pipeline for months now and we can't wait to formally introduce it to our business," Ms Taylor explained.
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