{"id":806390,"date":"2020-04-14T19:03:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T01:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=381775"},"modified":"2020-04-15T08:18:20","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T14:18:20","slug":"coronavirus-shutdown-dashes-wedding-plans-and-a-lucrative-seasonal-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/coronavirus-shutdown-dashes-wedding-plans-and-a-lucrative-seasonal-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus shutdown dashes wedding plans \u2014 and a lucrative seasonal business"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/02\/mountainmatrimony-sdn-021520-2-1024x683.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-379037\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/02\/mountainmatrimony-sdn-021520-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/02\/mountainmatrimony-sdn-021520-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/02\/mountainmatrimony-sdn-021520-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/02\/mountainmatrimony-sdn-021520-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/02\/mountainmatrimony-sdn-021520-2.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Loveland Ski Area hosted its 29th annual Mountain Matrimony mass wedding Feb. 14. The annual event was among the last weddings that took place before the coronavirus shutdown, which is putting spring and summer weddings in jeopardy.<\/strong><br \/><em>Liz Copan \/ <a href=\"mailto:ecopan@summitdaily.com\">ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>DILLON \u2014 Leah Sanders has been planning a June wedding in Breckenridge since August, but it\u2019s up in the air whether it will be able to go on as planned. Many couples are now weighing their options to postpone, have a very small ceremony with a large celebration later or have a virtual wedding.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sanders said she is holding out for her June 14 wedding of about 150 people, but if the shutdown continues and the wedding cannot go on as planned, she and her fiance plan to get a marriage certificate and hold a private ceremony before their baby arrives in the fall and then schedule a larger celebration when it is safe.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA week before Summit County went into shutdown mode, we found out that we were pregnant,\u201d Sanders said.&nbsp;\u201cFor us, it\u2019s important that we are married before the baby comes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sanders said one of the issues with rescheduling the celebration is that she has wedding guests who would struggle to reschedule the time off. The couple also has the added uncertainty of having wedding guests from outside the country, who might not be able to travel to Summit County. Other pieces that were in place \u2014 like wedding favors that have the date printed on them, or pre-booked services such as florists or photographers \u2014 also create rescheduling headaches.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row sd-donation sd-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/sdn-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThankfully, I\u2019ve been in Summit County for quite a while, so pretty much everyone (involved) are friends that we\u2019ve had for years, so they just say \u2026 \u2018Let me know. I\u2019m here for you,\u2019\u201d Sanders said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Kristy Smith, another bride-to-be, originally planned a September wedding in Frisco, where she and her fiance live. However, along with the pandemic, Smith\u2019s father is fighting stage 4 lung cancer. To make sure her father can be part of the wedding, Smith is moving the celebration to Missouri, near where he lives in Arkansas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe might have something smaller, simpler, less people, unfortunately,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n<p>Smith said she was able to get back all of her wedding planning deposits.<\/p>\n<p>Leon Joseph Littlebird, who has officiated more than 300 weddings in the area, said he is trying to be flexible with the new reality couples are facing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe couples that I\u2019m working with are kind of on hold,\u201d Littlebird said. \u201cSome have moved it to next year \u2026 other couples have moved it back into the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Littlebird said this is the first time he\u2019s considered performing virtual ceremonies, something he would not have agreed to a year ago, because he\u2019s hoping to help the couples move forward with their relationships.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust in the last three days, I\u2019ve had two requests to do virtual ceremonies. My initial response was that wouldn\u2019t work for what I do because it\u2019s really about connecting with nature and each other and the love of the couple. \u2026 All of that is very intimate and personal and hands on. Then I started thinking about how we\u2019re all adapting to this new world. It dawned on me that I better be open to the new reality of how things have changed in our society,\u201d Littlebird said.<\/p>\n<p>Littlebird, who typically officiates 10-15 weddings each summer, said he expects more requests for virtual wedding ceremonies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe big thing right now is uncertainty,\u201d Littlebird said. \u201cCouples are weighing their options. I\u2019ve got to really be open to do the best I can for these couples that I\u2019ve connected with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Profits on pause<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are many other wedding businesses that are being affected by the shutdown. Lisa Robinson, owner of Lovesome Photography, said that in her 13 years of photographing weddings, she had seen only one wedding canceled. Now, she has seen two weddings canceled and eight rescheduled.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPretty much everybody through the beginning of July has rescheduled for me,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cIn this area, we get a lot of destination weddings, so I had a few international couples \u2026 that have had to flat-out cancel just because everything is so up in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robinson said most of her clients have rescheduled for the fall while some couples have rescheduled for next year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been working with them to be super flexible on how to handle all of it,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cI\u2019m doing everything I can to still service the wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Robinson\u2019s contract with couples has a clause that deposits will be returned if a couple has to cancel due to an unforeseen circumstance, such as a national emergency, she hopes that most will reschedule instead. Returning all deposits would get \u201cdicey\u201d for her small business, she said.<\/p>\n<p>Kalye Burns is the owner of Petal and Bean floral and event business, which books services for about 75 weddings per year. This year, she has 43 weddings booked between Memorial Day and the end of October, only one of which has canceled. Five have been moved to 2021.<\/p>\n<p>The weddings that are rescheduled for next year are taking away from 2021 business, she said, so she is encouraging people who postpone weddings to rebook for later this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s hard with weddings because it\u2019s such a personal thing, but we\u2019re also trying to run a business,\u201d Burns said, adding that she has two weddings planned on the Fourth of July holiday weekend, a prime wedding slot. \u201cIf they cancel, it\u2019s a punch in the gut.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Andre Hampton, owner and chef of Black Diamond Gourmet catering, said he is working on the company\u2019s deposit and cancellation policies, which previously did not allow a refund. He is encouraging clients to reschedule rather than cancel, but he said he is dealing with the issue on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery day is different,\u201d Hampton said. \u201cRight now, we have mostly postponements, but there are a few requests for cancellations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hampton said weddings make up 80% of his business from June through October.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything has slowed down,\u201d Hampton said. \u201cThese last eight weeks to three months are usually a really strong booking period for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said people are hesitant to book weddings right now, so the catering company is offering a money back guarantee for new bookings that are later canceled due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Venues sit empty<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As ski resorts across Colorado struggle with an early end to the winter season, they\u2019re also facing the daunting fact that many weddings \u2014 a big summer moneymaker \u2014 are now on hold.<\/p>\n<p>Breckenridge Ski Resort and Keystone Resort offer 12 wedding venues plus a ceremony-only option on top of Dercum Mountain at Keystone. Spokeswoman Nicole Stull wrote in an email that weddings through May 31 are being canceled or rescheduled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this time, weddings in June and beyond are proceeding as planned, but we will continue to closely monitor public health guidance as we approach those dates,\u201d Stull wrote.<\/p>\n<p>She explained that weddings at the two resorts are typically booked&nbsp;more than a year&nbsp;in advance. If the wedding was set to occur between now and May 31, the resorts are offering full refunds.<\/p>\n<p>Other local venues, like the Silverthorne Pavilion, are in a similar position.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWeddings are a big part of our operations at the Silverthorne Pavilion as we do over 150 weddings per year,\u201d Silverthorne Arts and Culture Manager Sydney Schwab wrote in an email.<\/p>\n<p>The pavilion has had to cancel or reschedule 48 weddings and private events between March 15 and May 31, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight now, we are only canceling weddings through the end of May,\u201d Schwab wrote. \u201cWe still have weddings booked starting in June through the summer. We have had some couples reaching out on their own about rescheduling summer weddings. Although summer 2020 is an unknown, several events are in the booking and planning stages for 2021 and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/coronavirus-shutdown-dashes-wedding-plans-and-a-lucrative-seasonal-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Loveland Ski Area hosted its 29th annual Mountain Matrimony mass wedding Feb. 14. The annual event was among the last weddings that took place before the coronavirus shutdown, which is putting spring and summer weddings in jeopardy.Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com DILLON \u2014 Leah Sanders has been planning a June wedding in Breckenridge since August, but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-806390","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-14 03:36:21","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806390"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":806404,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806390\/revisions\/806404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}