Will the thriving Coast wedding industry recover from coronavirus? It’s complicated.
In less than a month, Meghan Lynch lost $10,000 in income. And she doesn’t know when she’ll be able to work again.
Since the first case of coronavirus in Mississippi was confirmed on March 11, Lynch, a wedding photographer and owner of MbM Photography, had four couples cancel and three others reschedule.
March through May are three of the busiest months for Lynch, a 29-year-old from Gulfport. Her calendar has been almost completely cleared.
“I lost half of my March and all of April’s weddings,” she said. “Some of my May brides are now making the hard decision of postponing or not.”
Lynch fears she may lose even more money before the end of the year if things don’t get better.
“I know things are way worse than losing income,” she said. “I know others are losing their loved ones, so I feel selfish in a way feeling the way I feel, but this business is my baby. I put every bit of my soul into this business and being something in this world, so losing those weddings, clients, and income really had me broken for a bit.”
Lynch is one of many professionals in the Mississippi Coast’s bustling wedding industry who have no primary source of income right now because of COVID-19. The wedding industry is one of many in Mississippi that is in limbo as non-essential businesses have been ordered closed as part of the state’s shelter-in-place order set by Gov. Tate Reeves.
The coronavirus has spread rapidly across the U.S., with 2,469 confirmed cases and 82 deaths in Mississippi, according to April 10 figures from the Mississippi State Department of Health.
The crippling effects of COVID-19 rippled fast, Lynch said, and essentially happened overnight, even before businesses began closing their doors and crowds were being dispersed on Coast beaches.
“One day I’m successful, finalizing timelines with brides and planners, eagerly waiting and excited for my couples who I bonded with over a year or more (to be married),” Lynch said, “and the next day ... it’s gone. It’s all gone. It’s out of your hands.”
Many are self-employed — they are photographers, makeup artists, caterers, disc jockeys, florists, venue owners and more — and make up part of Mississippi’s wedding industry that brings in about $37 million annually, according to experts.
And while the future is unclear with coronavirus, a question looms: Can the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s wedding industry recover?
Economic impact is hard to track
The Mississippi Coast is attractive for future brides and grooms because of its proximity to the water and various venue options. Outdoor weddings are popular in the spring and fall.
Mississippi is also one of the most affordable states in the U.S. to have a wedding, according to data from The Knot, one of the most popular wedding-planning websites. The average 2019 wedding on the Coast costs about $23,000.
Tracking the financial impact of COVID-19 on the wedding industry, though, is a challenge, said Ashley Edwards, president of the Gulf Coast Business Council.
“It can be harder to track because the sole proprietorships or individual contractors (self-employed people) don’t always get caught in the federal reporting net,” Edwards said.
“With that in mind, there is no question that they are being affected to a very large degree.”
Edwards said many wedding vendors are the same ones who make their living in the hospitality industry.
“We know that the industry is disproportionately affected because of lack of visitor spending and because of local (spending),” Edwards told the Sun Herald. “For many of these folks ... chances are you’re seeing no business at all.”
Local data on the economic impact of COVID-19 on the Coast businesses is not available yet, Edwards said, but the Business Council is working to get out a survey to local chambers of commerce to “touch as many businesses as possible to figure out how to quantify this impact.”
Unemployment help
Crissy Cox of Long Beach has been a freelance makeup artist for four years, but her “side hustle” brings in more income than her full-time job in administration.
And although she is still working, she’s worried for her fellow makeup artists who typically work full-time making brides look beautiful on their most special day.
“If I didn’t have my Monday-to-Friday job, I would have no money at all,” Cox said, adding that she has lost $3,000 in cancellations since March. “If you don’t have income coming in, what do you do? Just hope for the stimulus checks to come through?”
Because of the crisis, Edwards said self-employed professionals can apply for unemployment help and are eligible for the stimiulus checks from the federal government. Those affected in this industry are also eligible for CARES Act funds that are expected to be distributed beginning Friday in Mississippi, Reeves said Thursday.
Since losing income, Lynch said she put a halt on spending for her business and has begun to prepare herself financially for “dark days ahead.” She hasn’t filed for unemployment yet.
“I haven’t gotten to that point yet, so I hope it doesn’t come to that point,” she said. “I feel like others in the world need it more than I do right now, and I wouldn’t want to take that opportunity from anyone else.”
Future of Coast weddings: Grim or bright?
Lynch and Cox are both hopeful they will recover after the shelter-in-place order is lifted and the coronavirus is contained.
“I don’t know when things will be better, and that is so scary,” Lynch said. “Right now, just taking it one day at a time for my business and my family.”
Lynch said she’s still trying to help her clients as much as possible, and has created some unique offerings for those who didn’t want to cancel their wedding, but couldn’t have it either.
“One bride had to postpone, but she really wanted to have her wedding on her original date in early March when this began,” Lynch explained. She took photos of the two of them for two hours at their intimate ceremony and will apply the rest of the hours in their package to a later date when the reception is rescheduled.
“It’s not what we wanted, but they were happy in the end, and that’s what matters to me,” Lynch said.
Lynch said she learned a valuable lesson from the uncertainty.
“Before, we only had to worry and prepare for hurricane scenarios here, but this is a whole new ballgame now,” she said. “I do know I will be preparing my business a lot more for the future with scenarios like this.”
Edwards predicts there will be a “surge” in wedding business when business is restored, but there is a catch.
“There could be a surge in demand ... but once that surge is over, make sure they (vendors) have sustainable business coming in.”
Edwards believes that local monies alone won’t be enough and would encourage vendors to look toward marketing their services to tourists and people not from the area looking to get married on the Coast.
“If they have the ability to make it across this bridge, having local spending will be a good thing but it won’t be enough to get them back to where they once were.”
