The Way Ahead Blog by The UK Wedding Event’s Rob O’Neill
2020 has been a challenging year to say the least as a result of COVID-19.
Businesses up and down the country have ground to a halt because of the lockdown, leaving many facing tough decisions about the way ahead.
The wedding, event and hospitality sector in particular has found this period of inactivity especially hard to contend with, due to a lack of income after cancellations and postponements.
The last few months have certainly tested the patience and resolve of many business owners, even if you have been able to benefit from government support schemes, fuelled by main stream media headlines predicting the worst and talk of future spikes in cases.
However, the reality is, the country IS starting to make progress, like in other parts of the world, and the early signs ARE encouraging after the easing of some of the lockdown restrictions.
These baby steps should offer great hope to wedding professionals and indeed engaged couples looking to get married in the near future.
Yes, the easing of the restrictions may not be happening as quickly as we would all like in the wedding industry, and things won’t go back to how they were before immediately, but don’t let the negative thoughts outweigh the positive ones.
It’s for this reason that we felt it was important to set a target date for our return to action so to speak for our first post-lockdown wedding fayre which we have provisionally scheduled at Burn Hall York on Sunday 6th September.
If you are part of an engaged couple and seeking inspiration for your big day, we would be delighted to have you join us for this event.
Your support has never been needed more than at this time for our friends and colleagues in the wedding industry, who are often small family run businesses, so please look to book as many of them as you possibly can for services related to your weddings!
Of course the fight against COVID-19 does continues, and naturally we will carry on being guided by government advice to ensure the event can be staged in a safe and secure environment.
Every exhibitor and visitor will be expected to follow the necessary steps to adhere to the rules put in place, which means the wedding fayre experience will differ from what you may have been used to.
This is likely to include the wearing of face masks, being more spaced apart from or in different rooms to other exhibitors or even having a table positioned outside if the weather permits to comply with social distancing regulations.
All visitors must supply an email address and contact number for track and trace purposes, while access will be limited to a strict time slot as we will be capping numbers allowed in a room at any one time.
Further details on how the show will be operating will be released closer to the time as we continue to monitor the status of the pandemic and any restrictions in place at the time.
It goes without saying during these unusual times, that the event could be reschedule for a later date if reported coronavirus cases increase significantly by September or if government guidance prohibited the show from going ahead on safety grounds.
All visitors to the show will be admitted free of charge, while suppliers looking to exhibit won’t be expected to pay their stand balance until a fortnight before (this doesn’t apply if you have already paid and are simply moving over an existing booking).
CLICK HERE to book FREE TICKETS for the event.
CLICK HERE to reserve a stand to exhibit. Please note all photography spots have now gone.
At present the wedding fayre at Burn Hall on 6th September is our only confirmed dates for the rest of the year, but other shows will be revealed in due course as many of our pre-existing dates are now subject to change.
I can also state that it is still our intention to stage The Big York Racecourse Event on Sunday 18th October but once again it is too early to report on a plan of action for that show at this time.
Thanks for your continued understanding.
Please keep safe and we’ll see you all very soon.
Kind Regards
Rob O’Neill
The UK Wedding Event
0113 8214544