By Emily Drooby
New York makeup artist Sharon Becker was traveling all weekend for a wedding gig. Once she got home, instead of a break, she had to prepare for another job.
“The last month since weddings picked up again has been totally bonkers, completely insane,” Sharon said. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt something like this before and I’ve been doing this for 10 years now.”
After the pandemic, the busy schedule is welcomed. She owns her own company, SB Beauty.
“It feels great,” Sharon added. “I’m so excited to be working again!”
Sharon is not alone. Wedding vendors across the city have seen a boom in business.
According to The Wedding Report, 42 percent of weddings originally scheduled in 2020 were moved to a date this year.
On top of that, with COVID restrictions lifted in New York, people can finally throw bigger weddings.
“Our phones have been ringing off the hook,” said Benjamin Gold. He’s the co-founder and president of the NY Food Truck Association.
They have 75 members with over 125 trucks.
“And they’re booked pretty much every weekend,” Ben explained.
Food trucks have become a popular option for wedding food.
In 2019, the association had anywhere from 30 to 40 percent of their trucks booked on the weekend. In 2020, during the pandemic, that number dropped down to below five percent. Now, that number is close to 95 percent.
“I mean there’s still going to be a lot of scars for a long time to come,” Ben said, “but this definitely helps get over that pretty quickly.”
Christian Rada is the Director of Marriage, Family Formation, and Respect Life Education for the Diocese of Brooklyn. Even he has seen an increase in pending marriages too.
“I’m seeing an increase in couples going to Pre-Cana.”
Couples are heading back to the church altar.
“Couples now want to get married inside the church. They want to have family and friends gather together to celebrate this wonderful occasion of two people coming together and asking for God’s blessing,” said Christian.
The summer of nuptials. That means more marriages, more families and more business for wedding vendors: all bright spots coming ahead after a difficult year.