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Florists' Review June 2021

Florists' Review Media Group has served the global floral in study for over 124 years.

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Business 50 June | 2021 The Main Event With restrictions loosening and more people being vaccinated, is the event industry back in business? By Kat Castagnoli, AIFD, CFD, CCF W hile weddings and other celebrations are slowing making their way back onto calendars, fl oral designers and others who make those events happen are still recovering from the impacts of the pandemic. Lauren Schaefer, owner of e Get Together Events Co., is getting increasingly more inquiries about her wedding coordination services and, at FR press time in early May, she had booked 60 weddings for this year— close to the 69 she did in 2019. But Schaefer, whose company does business in New York, Chicago and Nashville, still sees a lot of caution. Couples whose dream it is to have a big wedding still aren't sure about booking a date amid continuing restrictions on the size of gatherings in many parts of the country. Some state and local governments also have limits on wedding traditions like cocktail hours and dance fl oors. "I tell clients that if they feel comfortable having a wedding under today's restrictions, let's more forward and hopefully things will get better from there," Schaefer says. ere's Still Spacing Going On Even as inquiries and bookings are picking up, uncertainty is still hanging over event planners, fl orists, caterers and others. It's not just the government restrictions; many people are still uneasy about large gatherings. "As the masks are coming off , the layouts are still keeping their distance," informs Joe Mineo, AIFD, CFD, owner of event design studio Joe Mineo Creative in Youngstown, Ohio. "We are continuing to create our event layouts with extra spacing." Mineo explains that COVID mandates forced event designers to get more creative with venues and not be afraid to "break up the party" by placing guests throughout a space. "Now we're using the formerly dreaded extra rooms and treating them with as much design attention as the main spaces." But, he says, "We see our clients having a return to confi dence; they are comfortable putting down deposits, which lets us direct our focus creating incredible fl orals." Many of the new bookings at event spaces are for the end of this year and 2022. ese businesses may already have a full calendar for the late spring and summer because of weddings and other celebrations that were postponed from 2020, but with restrictions on the size of gatherings still on the books in many states, the future remains uncertain. " e next few months are still a little vague on events," says Nick Cascio, co-owner of Giorgio's, a premier event venue in Baiting Hollow, N.Y., on Long Island's East End. "Although restrictions have been lifted, clients need time to plan," As FR went to press in early May, events in New York could have to 150 people. Giorgio's hosted 20 weddings with 50 guests or fewer after the pandemic began last year, but that was far below the venue's 500-guest capacity. e venue typically hosts about 150 weddings a year with 200 or more guests. Cascio says he's optimistic that with more people being vaccinated and the infection rate lower, his business will eventually return to normal. Since the beginning of the pandemic, government-ordered shutdowns and restrictions forced some event-related companies out of business, including venues, fl orists and bridal gown

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