End of Wedding Season Interview With Sunshine Weddings Spain Founder Scott Gibbons
Today we interview our very own Scott Gibbons, founder and owner of Sunshine Weddings Spain, about the end of the 2021 wedding season and what we can look forward to in the coming season.
Hi Scott, thanks for taking time out of your busy day to chat with us today. Tell us, with honest feedback, how has the 2021 wedding season gone?
Well, if you’d have asked me the same question in June this year, I’m not sure what the answer would have been as, even though I’ve always remained super positive, with new travel restrictions put in place early summer, specifically between the UK and Spain, things had started to look a bit bleak again. And I didn’t have a crystal ball to know what the next few months would bring.
What I did know was that couples were enthusiastic about planning and having their wedding after a year of restlessness and uncertainty.
As it happens, the key turning point was around the beginning of August and I’m delighted to say that we were able to successfully organise 10 weddings during this month, and all the weddings we had planned throughout September, and October, took place.
August was an amazing month for us. Being back doing what we love most after such a long time was just incredible. And the two weddings we had at the beginning of July gave us that initial taster of what we’d miss for so long.
The enjoyment of our bridal couples and respective friends and families was also palpable. After 20 months of restrictions, weddings this season have meant so much more. They have signified the coming together of bridal couples and of people who hadn’t seen each other in a long time, of travel after so long. A combination of memorial moments which ensured wonderous celebrations.
During August time we saw this desire to travel flourish, and the average number of wedding guests increased, almost daily, as we commenced the September weddings—with the largest weddings celebrated seeing between 140 and 150 guests.
What was equally encouraging is that, once we hit August, absolutely everyone who had planned to marry this season went ahead. No one chose to cancel, or postpone. Each and every wedding planned took place, and it was amazing.
I have to say it has been a whirlwind last few months, with the fading pandemic the wedding season really kicked into high gear and it has been great being back doing what we love.
Today, as I reflect back on these last few months, is actually my first day without a bridal couple since July or August, with the last wedding of the season celebrated last Thursday.
An amazing end to an amazing season which saw 42 weddings in 10 weeks.
Looking ahead, we are booked out every day with couples for 2022 / 2023 weddings. Some are still victims of covid who were postponed from 2020 or earlier this year. Others, new bridal couples planning on a 2022 wedding and I think it’s safe to say that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
As far as I’m aware, there have been no new registered covid cases in my area for the last four weeks, or covid hospitalisations in our local hospital, at least that I know of.
What can I say, it’s been a great wedding season, pretty much two years of weddings in one year, and next year will be a massive, massive year.
After being crushed by the pandemic, the wedding industry is ready to party, and so are we!
I would also like to take this opportunity to send a huge shout-out to the whole Sunshine Weddings Spain team for all their hard work, and a special message to all the bridal couples that have either been married or are yet to get married with us – wishing them all the most fantastic Xmas and New Year celebration and my personal wishes of good health and luck in 2022!
