1.8m love-hearts to tie the knot at pub weddings this year
In preparation for the busy season, hospitality businesses are looking to recruit, with Caterer.com data showing a 432% increase in wedding related jobs in Q1 this year, in comparison to Q1 2021.
The research also found nearly half of people (47%) were attending more informal and laid-back wedding receptions, increasing to nearly three quarters (72%) for Londoners, with 3.3m people currently planning their wedding.
Tessa Stewart, weddings and events manager at the Bell in Ticehurst, East Sussex believed that while there was an increased demand for relaxed weddings, people were not compromising on style. “We have more than 80 weddings booked so far for this year and after lockdowns, people definitely want an absolute focus on family and friends,” she added.
A quarter of people are planning to attend up to three weddings in 2022, with two fifths (40%) claiming to have been invited to more weddings this year than ever before. What’s more, two thirds (64%) of wedding guests are attending ceremonies this year that have been delayed due to Covid.
A much-needed boost
Caterer.com director Kathy Dyball said: “From choosing the perfect venue to finding the right caterers, hospitality plays a vital role in bringing people together on such special occasions. Pubs are becoming a popular venue for ceremonies and receptions, with couples choosing their trusted local to host family and friends on their big day.”
Furthermore, couples currently planning weddings are looking to spend £18,000 on average on the likes of venue and catering, increasing to £28,000 in London.
“It’s vital for hospitality businesses to attract and retain the right talent offering excellent service and helping to contribute to making a memorable day for couples and their loved ones,” said Dyball.
She added: “With more and more people looking to get married in the UK this year, it would be fantastic to see the sector experience a much-needed boost.”
Pub positives
More than half (56%) of survey respondents also agreed that the best weddings they had attended have had excellent service, with more than a third (38%) of people stating their food was their favourite aspect of a wedding.
The research revealed London to be the UK’s most popular wedding hotspot, with 19% of weddings taking place there this year. A close second was the north west, which will host 16% of weddings, followed by the West Midlands, south east and Yorkshire & Humberside.
Grace Wilson and Thom Pickering from south London had recently booked their wedding in their local pub in Dulwich. “We love the food, we love the people and they always offer great service,” she said, and concluded, “we’ve also not been locked into costly and complicated contracts which is a plus."
