HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The wedding industry across the nation is seeing a boom in business — and Hawaii is no different.
On Oahu, weddings are capped at 100 people. Despite restrictions, wedding industry workers in the islands said they are overwhelmed with the number of people wanting to tie the not.
Taryn Magalianes, the owner of A Touch of You, is happy to be back planning weddings. However, she has more details to think about than ever.
She’s constantly calling vendors to make sure floor layouts are approved. Tables and chairs need the correct spacing and she has to watch the number of people that gather in one group.
/facebook-2901d0a8a935481096ad8b03b3abca58-8bd06a9343b3480eaf57443a747dd7f0.jpg){kind=small}
“We can’t take all the in all the inquiries, as much as we would like to,” Magalianes said. “It’s just not feasible.”
Many venues are requiring people to work with a wedding planner because of restrictions, so they’re stretched thin.
Magalianes said it’s a good problem for her to have.
Business stopped during the pandemic and she’s thankful it picked back up again.
But everyone including venues, vendors and florists are having a hard time keeping up.
Sue Tabbal-Yamaguchi, owner of Su-V Expressions, has a similar story to Magalianes. She runs a florist business that specializes in events.
“I haven’t really gotten too much sleep,” she said. “I guess it’s a good thing because we’ve been sleeping for a year.”
Mainland flower farms are just not getting back on their feet, and even though the supply has grown, it is still limited.
“Sometimes it was difficult to get just even roses or even hydrangeas,” Tabbal-Yamaguchi said. “And for a while we were we weren’t able to get any of that.”
So having a wedding right now is a daunting task. One that James and Marissa Ka were up for. They got married this past weekend.
“Just t trying to be able to adhere to the states’ guidelines and restrictions and, planning a wedding that we knew would be memorable and still safe for everyone,” Marissa Ka said. “It was a hard balance.”
They ran into problems getting flowers, tables and chairs. Not to mention they’ve rescheduled twice.
It’s easy to get caught up in the stress of planning the big day, but they just had to remind themselves what the result would be.
”I’d like to think I’m a tough person, but I kind of broke down and cried like a little baby,” James Ka said. “I was just so happy that all the hard work and planning that she did, it came to that point where we are finally going to get to know you together in one.”
