THE WEDDING industry in Bradford is looking ahead to the future as we approach the end of lockdown, with business owners saying that venues being able to operate as normal again will be a “huge boost” for the city.
From 21 June, the limit on the number of people who could attend weddings and civil partnerships in England and Wales was scrapped, although some restrictions remain in place, and will do so until 19 July.
But from then onwards, rules regarding social distancing, table service, the wearing of masks, dancing and singing are set to be relaxed, with even more bookings now expected across the district’s venues.
Those who work in Bradford’s wedding industry say that the easing of restrictions has been “a long time coming”. They add that the district often has some of the “loudest and most extravagant” ceremonies, and that they are a big asset to the local economy.
Aziz Ahmed, the CEO of Girlington-based wedding caterers Aziz Catering, said the industry has had it “really, really tough” over the pandemic, but added that he is “over the moon” that we are now beginning to ease out of lockdown .
“Everyone in the wedding industry is absolutely thrilled that restrictions are now going to ease,” he said.
“We’ve had a very rough year due to lockdown, so we’re really excited and looking forward to the 19th.
“It’s been very frustrating, there have been a lot of holdbacks for people who have wanted to get married. It’s been tough for us, our industry has really struggled.
“Financially, we’ve had to keep changing directions, we’ve had to do take outs to keep our heads above the water.
“But we’re getting a lot of inquiries now, and orders for the end of July and August are coming in thick and fast. People are looking forward to coming out of lockdown, and to getting married!”
Mr Ahmed adds that getting the industry back to ‘normal’ will be a huge asset to Bradford, with weddings in the district often attracting large crowds from far and wide.
“I think the easing of restrictions and the return of weddings will help to put Bradford back on the map”, he said.
“People come from across the country to book wedding venues and caterers here, so I think it will be a huge boost for Bradford.
“Although it has been a tough time for the city’s economy, I think we’ll survive and we’ll be fine. Only time will tell, but I am quite confident that things will look better after the 19th.
“There has been a lack of jobs, but once the ease down happens, there will be jobs galore – hopefully – across all industries.
“I would advise people to keep their options open and to be positive. Everything will open up soon, so book now with Aziz Catering before it’s too late!”
Ameer Mahmood, who is the manager at HQ Banqueting Suite on Bolling Road, said that he is also excited for a return to ‘normality’, but remains cautious of Covid-19.
“To be honest, the easing of restrictions has been a long time coming. But we don’t want to remove all restrictions at our venue – it’s not going to be a free-for-all, people should still be sensitive, as there is still a virus”, he said.
“There has to be a balance. There needs to be certain criteria in place, because there had been that provision in place from the very start of the pandemic, we wouldn’t have got into the situation we’ve all been in.
“As a business, we feel as though it’s our responsibility to make sure we are role models and set examples of how things should be, moving forward.
“I know the Government is talking about learning to live with Covid, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore the virus – we still need to appreciate the fact that it’s still around, and that it’s still important for us to protect vulnerable and elderly people.
“But we have one of the largest venues anywhere in Yorkshire, so social distancing is a norm for us anyway, in terms of the way we set our tables out.
“It has been extremely difficult for us throughout the pandemic. We’re not in a position where everything is back to normal as of yet, so there’s still a long road ahead for us as a business. But we’ve already had a few people get in touch, in regard to bookings, so we’ve kind of picked up where we left off.
“In February 2020, we were awarded banqueting suite of the year at the Asian Wedding Awards, and a month later we went into lockdown – so we didn’t really have the chance to showcase the reasons why we won that award. So this year, Insha’Allah (‘god-willing’), we want to show what it is we’re about, and what we can do.
“I think being able to operate as ‘normal’ again will be massive for Bradford’s economy. I feel like with the wedding industry here, we set the benchmark. Our weddings, the food we provide and everything else is of the highest quality, and the wedding industry is the pride and joy of Bradford.
“Some of the loudest and most extravagant weddings happen here, so we are looking forward to hopefully getting Bradford back to how it’s supposed to be, back to the growing economy which we’ve been for the last few years.
“We will be back doing what we do best, so we ask people to come and check it out for themselves, and let’s get back to enjoying the amazing weddings we have here.”
Dr Javed Bashir, who is a safeguarding consultant at Strengthening Faith Institutions (SFI), said he welcomes the news, but also said that a “balance” is important.
“The UK wedding industry contributes £14.7 billion to the economy each year, £5 billon of which come from the Asian wedding sector”, he said.
“Asian weddings are known for being lavish affairs, taking place over three to four days, with hundreds of friends and families coming from near and far to celebrate with the bride and groom.
“The Government has lifted the cap of 30 guests for wedding ceremonies, which has given a rise to the number of weddings which are to take place in the Bradford district.
“A typical Asian wedding would have hundreds of guests and many families have delayed weddings in the hope that restrictions would be lifted. Since last year, many weddings have been delayed multiple times.
“Now there is a rush at wedding halls across the district, with two to three weddings taking place each day at different venues.
“Many of these weddings are those which have been delayed due to Covid-19, and people are rushing because many of them have already paid the deposit.
“Many other businesses linked to the wedding venues have also been affected, such as car hire businesses, florists, cake decorators and photographers.
“We welcome this news, but there still needs to be a fine balance between keeping people safe and not letting the wedding industry suffer any more than it already has.”
