Post Lockdown Rush: Why Everyone Around You Is Getting Married And What It Means For You

Weddings have never been out of fashion. But when a pandemic brings everything to a halt, expect lovebirds to find a way to get things going again.

It’s 10 pm. You’re back from work. You get in bed to rest from the long day. But just before you shut your eyes, you have to fulfil your daily ritual – Social Media. You open WhatsApp to see the news of three more High School classmates celebrating their engagements. You jump to Twitter and see #ISaidYes trending. Instagram is worse as it seems to be full of wedding hashtags, trumpet-playing proposals, and Aso-Ebi colours and styles this post lockdown period.

You begin to wonder if there is a wedding flu in the air or if this has always been the norm.

If you were curious about the post lockdown weddings you see daily, this would be an interesting read for you. We did some digging and after consulting some wedding planners, and speaking with a number of wedding blogs, we managed to isolate some possible reasons why there may seem to be a lot of weddings going on this period:

1. Postponement: Some of us had owambe plans this year that were shockingly yanked from us. Before the lockdown in 2020, weddings were considered “postponement proof”. No matter how things got, weddings will always go on. Unfortunately, COVID showed us who the boss is.

The wedding industry was brought to its knees in no time, as the lockdown confined all residents to their homes. Many couples had to cancel or reschedule their weddings as a result. Chalya Wuyep, CEO, 601 events, told Nigeria’s Premium Times Newspaper there was a serious scramble to cancel or postpone upcoming weddings.

Wedding planners, vendors and couples had to worry about the logistics of postponing a wedding in a pandemic that seemed to have no end. So the moment outside opened up, soon-to-wed couples of 2020 saw this as an opportunity to get married, hence the flurry of weddings observed since August.

2. Second Wave: Countries have been alerting citizens about a potential ‘round two’ of the pandemic. Many countries around the world are currently experiencing a second wave. The News Life Medical Sciences reported that the UK is currently experiencing its second wave of the Pandemic and it is said to have reached a ‘critical stage’. Time Magazine also reported that the United States of America reached a new record high in the number of daily COVID-19 infections in October and that the virus continues to spread rapidly. There have been warnings from both the Africa Centres for Disease Control and the Nigerian government that a more devastating second wave of coronavirus could occur. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) recorded 281 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, taking the country’s caseload to 67,838. It can only be inferred that people would rather be locked down with their partners than be apart for an uncertain period.

Couples have taken the initiative to act fast before another lockdown is proposed. This will indeed explain the number of small weddings, as opposed to the few, opulent ceremonies that used to be the norm.

3. Financial Implications: With the way the Wedding Industry is set up, money does the talking. The cost of weddings has reduced significantly as couples are now planning for a smaller crowd. Couples are planning more simple and affordable weddings. 2020 has seen some unusual increases in search traffic. According to research by Hitched UK, search inquiries for the word ‘Simple’ increased by 272% from 2019, while the search for the word ‘elopement’ also rose by 73% worldwide. This trend may be an indication of how more people are looking to consider other means of getting to settle down with their spouses. Love Weddings NG, a top wedding blog confirmed a rise in simpler, more intimate weddings than ever before when 234star spoke with them.

 

Iyanuoluwa Alarape, CEO of Events by Aiwai gave us an insight into how the lockdown has affected the financial plans of her clients. “The catering budget is the biggest difference due to the smaller number of guests being planned for,” she said. “The cost of venue changes when the couple opts for a smaller venue or when the venue manager offers a discount due to the expected reduced capacity. The cost of decoration reduces when there is a change in decoration plans. A DJ or live band would, however, charge the same amount unless there are some personal readjustments in their contract.” This period presents a financially easing opportunity many couples want to take advantage of.

4. Love and sex: Being locked away from the LOYL is not recommended. Add the uncertainty of when you would be reunited and your blood pressure can go up. Being locked in and away from friends, family and loved ones has taught many to appreciate human presence whether physically or through the ubiquitous Zoom app. This lockdown changed the attitude of many towards the importance of family and love. Wedding Planner Alarape says about 40% of her post lockdown wedding couples had not planned to get married this year pre-covid including herself and her fiancé. The events of the year had brought them close enough to make the decision to get married. The need for emotional, loving support through difficult times and life was apparent this year. With the high rising number of the Covid related deaths, couples would rather be with their partners in a holy, legal and socially acceptable way. Better to be locked away with the LOYL than to suffer through the isolation alone.

5. Pressure: With the lockdown, many unmarried Nigerians who are old enough to get married were home. The pressure to get married from friends, parents and relatives is expected and experienced by young people at some point in their lives. However, the lockdown added to the pressure (subtle or not). Alarape explains that when the pressure to marry increases, there is usually a form of escape. “You go to work or you go out. But with the lockdown, there was nowhere to run to”. With barely any distractions, this pressure nudged some couples to get married.

6. Priorities: According to Qawiyah Haroon-Tejumola, the CEO of Plans By Q, the lockdown afforded people the time to analyze and restructure their lives. With no end in sight, the pandemic gave people the space to evaluate their priorities and wants. For some, this would involve placing money as number one. However, for some of the post lockdown wedding couples, love and family were considered a top priority.

7. The Fear of Covid: The fear of Covid-19 is the beginning of wisdom. The unpredictable nature of the virus makes it easy for some to choose safety over getting married. The rising death toll in Nigeria scares many people, including us. The Virus tore through Nigeria especially Lagos State. The NCDC daily Covid updates were the biggest headline during the lockdown. The government authorities worked hard to ensure citizens stayed home during the lockdown. There were constant Covid-19 safety protocol campaigns in the media. These were enough to keep us cowering at the thought of going outside. The fear was real. It is expected that many soon-to-be-wed couples would be fearful as well. Adelowo Oluwatosin, CEO AOT Events, told TheNetNG that at least 50% of her clients would have happily gone on with their wedding plans if not for the fear of their family members contracting the virus from the gathering.

8. Loneliness: With or without a pandemic, loneliness is difficult. Adding a lockdown to this feeling can only make things worse. The harsh reality of loneliness was felt by many this year. Some people were locked down with loved ones and some were locked down alone. Some people were locked down with people they liked and some were locked down with people they disliked. We were either grateful for the people we were locked down with or praying for the lockdown to be over so we could escape.

According to Love Weddings NG, one of the top wedding blogs in Nigeria, there has been a rise in proposals and engagements since the lockdown ended. The boredom of being locked down alone or locked down with people you don’t like is a reality that many would rather escape.

9. Guestlist Guilt: Deciding a wedding guest list that everyone agrees with is an impossible process. In most Nigerian cultures, the parents and older relatives look forward to the weddings of their children. Weddings serve the double function of celebrating love and offering a social gathering where old and new connections can bloom. As a result, many weddings are big, loud, complicated, and dramatic.

With the excuse of the pandemic, many couples can now comfortably maintain a limited and exclusive guest list. According to Qawiyah Haroon-Tejumola, CEO of Plans by Q, her clients have had to drastically reduce their guest lists from at least 600 to less than a 100. Some of the couples apparently happily do so. Emma Joy, a luxury wedding planner based in London, said in her interview with Woman and Home that she expects many smaller, intimate weddings in the next year. This means couples would make shorter guest lists by choice or by necessity. This may pose a challenge or a blessing for couples who would have had to succumb to cultural expectations of having a large wedding.

The existence of streaming sites like Zoom has made this easier for couples. The trend of live streaming weddings began as a necessity. According to Love Weddings NG, travel restrictions and events had a massive impact on weddings. It was from these restrictions that humans naturally found another way.

A brief interview with Wedding Digest Naija about post lockdown weddings shows that this period has been a blessing to couples who had to postpone their big day. “The wedding season is slowly picking up again with couples embracing minimalistic and intimate gatherings”, they stated.

An analysis of 234star’s survey of wedding planners, wedding blogs, and wedding suppliers confirms one thing: the first quarter of 2021 is booked full of weddings. The most common reason being that couples expect that the Pandemic would be history by then. According to Wedding Dress Designer, Rose Blossom, the majority of her 2020 clients postponed their weddings to 2021.

This means the rush that started in August is expected to continue well into the first quarter of 2021 and beyond. We don’t mean to intrude, but, err, when are you getting married?!