COMPANIES relying on large-scale weddings for income are the latest subjects of the Scottish Government’s succour, as a new £25 million support package was announced for the sector this week.
Photographers, florists, drivers, caterers, event suppliers, and others, will find themselves elegible for a grant of between £5000 and £25,000.
With 3000 weddings — 12 per cent of all in Scotland — taking place at Gretna Green alone annually, swathes of local firms have been hard-hit by the crisis.
Karen, owner of wedding florists Gretna Flower Basket said she will definitely apply for the help: “You’ve just got to get through it, we’re lucky to be getting it because we’ve had a lot of cancellations and postponements but if we look at the big picture, it will be busier, but it’s when that will be that’s the problem,” she added. “It’s a guessing game for everbody, it’s only five allowed at a wedding at the minute so it’s definitely not going to be for a while anyway.”
Jacquline McHenry, part-owner of the Dumfries-based wedding decor supplier Tantrum Events said: “We’re certainly making an application because I feel that wedding parties are not going to be back in 2021. Basically, we’ve lost out on two years on business.
“We’ve been providing wedding decor for nearly 20 years now – we’re the most established in the region and we do have the party side to the business, which since the pandemic struck we’ve been trying to push a bit more.”
Jacquline remarked that the sum is “never going to make up for what was lost out,” adding: “There’s nothing to make up for that, but in the same token we’re not doing the work.
“Most people are now going over to 2022. So we’ve lost out on two full years. We’ve had to furlough all the staff, It’s myself and my husband that work the business and we’re having to work double the hours for 20, maybe even ten per cent of what we’d usually make.”
Marion Dill, part-owner of Willowgrove Wedding Cars in Eastriggs, ceased operating at the outset of the pandemic due to safety concerns for her drivers.
She said: “We closed down in March because there’s no way I could ask a wedding car driver to go to Gretna. We didn’t deem that safe, and we shut the doors.
“If one of the drivers caught covid, I just couldn’t do it.”
Marion added that as most bookings have been pushed back until next year, the company “hasn’t been too bad”, but said the firm would “maybe look into” making an application for the grant.
