NH wedding industry confronts supply chain havoc

According to theknot.com, the online source for all things matrimonial, weddings are a $100 billion industry in the United States, and the website reports pent-up demand for 2022 weddings as couples have either postponed nuptials due to the pandemic or are now hosting larger redos.

That bodes well for an industry with numerous moving parts. Weddings need photographers, flowers, a cake and a DJ who enjoys the Cha Cha Slide. It is an industry based on gatherings, and friends and families are just now starting to comfortably gather.

No bride or groom wants rain on their wedding day, but the dark clouds of supply, demand and labor shortages with resulting price increases thanks to ongoing global supply chain disruptions mean that even couples who plan ahead and get creative can still expect to pay more. Even rice, the tiniest moving part as the traditional send-off shower for the bride and groom, spiked at 40 percent higher a year ago, and like every other commodity, remains higher in price.

Wedding gown makers and retailers have seen fabric shortages and other supply chain turmoil in the last two years due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, sometimes resulting in shipping delays or deliveries that arrive too late. And even for brides willing to grab a gown off the rack, the choice is more limited, since wedding dresses made in China and elsewhere are among the goods stuck at American ports due to supply chain issues.

Those in the wedding industry in New Hampshire are determined to hold the line on prices as much as possible, though acceptance of things that can’t be controlled is part of the equation for both businesses and customers.

Jay Wolf, owner of George’s Apparel in Manchester, has been in the clothing business for 31 years and is a fourth-generation clothier. The store specializes in fitted formal wear for men.

“I have a lot of friends in the business,” Wolf said.

“Stores bigger than mine. Stores smaller than mine. We’re all starving for merchandise.”

According to Wolf, George’s has traditionally offered men’s formal white shirts from $39 to $100, but recently white shirts have been selling for up to $150 ... at other stores, that is.

“I’m not raising prices,” Wolf said. “Maybe I should study economics more. I’m not raising my prices just because demand is up. My prices are my prices.”

The owner noted that the ratio of purchased suits to rentals has typically been about 70 percent to 30 percent, but it’s closer to 60-40 this year. According to Wolf, rentals come from a different supply chain and delivery has not been a problem.

Similarly, Fred Keach, co-owner of Concord’s D. McLeod Florist, has been in the floral business for 30 years. The store, which opened in 1902, is in its fourth generation of family ownership. Once upon a time, Keach explained, the store had its own coal-heated greenhouses in the south end of Concord.

Today, Keach said, flowers now come from “all over the place,” including California, Canada, Israel and The Netherlands, with roses coming primarily from South America.

“The supply chain has been a big deal from what our wholesalers have told us,” Keach explained. “There are two issues. The first is labor. They can’t find folks to work the fields and cut the flowers. The other problem is climate change. In South America in particular, the weather pattern has changed a lot. It’s badly affected the growing season.”

The florist saw a 50 to 60 percent spike in the price of roses with the wholesale cost now stabilizing at 30 percent higher than pre-pandemic. Another factor in higher prices for all flowers was the reluctance to plant in 2020.

Keach feels that professional florists like D. McLeod have several advantages in what he termed “a fragmented business.” According to him, big-box stores that have flowers as a small sideline may not give an item with a limited shelf life the focus it needs for profitability. He explained that despite gross sales being down at D. McLeod during the pandemic, net profit is actually up. The store spent considerable time fine-tuning both its ordering and design to make the process from receiving to selling more efficient. He also noted that floral deliveries to hospitals and nursing homes were up.

Shauna Sousa has been a floral designer for over 20 years and is one of six designers the store employs. She spoke to the intricacies of her craft: “There’s a lot of nuance. You need a good eye and good spatial recognition.

I can also work disgustingly fast.”

Sousa advises couples to think three months in advance for wedding arrangements and to have “a backup to your backup.”

Keach also noted that half of the accents and accessories he ordered in January have yet to arrive because of shipping delays, which he needs for a trade show he attends annually in Atlanta.

Keach is reluctant to estimate business for the next six months, but Wolf at George’s feels weddings have already rebounded.

“This past wedding season, we saw a lot of redos,” the clothier said. Weddings that had been canceled. People getting married on a Thursday or a Wednesday ... We had a strong fall wedding season, it’s been stronger over the last two years, and we didn’t have a summer lull.”

Wolf noted that a men’s suit, which used to be a wardrobe staple, can now be new territory to the holes-inthe-jeans crowd. For that reason, he explained, a proper fit, something hard to get with a suit off a rack at a large retailer, is important. He also suggested grays and medium blues as current popular suit colors.

Kirsten Maxwell Cooper, editor-inchief at theknot.com, has several tips to keep wedding costs down: 1. Consider a weekday wedding. 2. Continue to use Zoom tech. It’s now an accessibility issue. 3. Consider “nano-elements” for your big day. Mini-cakes are in. Have a smaller wedding party. Consider postponing a big trip, either for a honeymoon or for a destination wedding.

Bradford’s Rosewood Country Inn is a smaller New Hampshire wedding venue with a number of pleasant twists. Proprietors Stan and Odo Ovrevnik took over the historic inn in 2015 and have added capacity as well as solar panels and two charging stations for electric cars.

The inn offers a Breeze Wedding for up to 40 for just over $9,000. A special events chef has been added recently, as well as two tents on the grounds, which include a gazebo, a small waterfall and a picturesque photographic background. The inn can sleep up to 32 guests.

“We’ve tried to toe the line as much as we can with costs, but there comes a time when you have to increase your prices a little bit,” Stan explained. “We’ve always paid our employees well, but now good labor costs more. Food costs have gone up considerably. My understanding is that alcohol will soon be in short supply.”

The inn employs from 15 to 20 workers, and with labor harder to find, the Ovrevniks cite offering flexible hours, sometimes including child care, as important. On the plus side, they note that workers are more willing to perform multiple jobs.

“We’re not a one-size-fits-all establishment,” Stan added. “We always ask, ‘Exactly what are you looking for in your wedding?’” If you’re looking for automotive panache, a 1929 Model A and a 1966 Ford Mustang are available for wedding parties.

Odo picked out the Model A, perhaps recalling her family’s connection with cars of that era.

“My grandfather Luis Rios worked in the West Dallas, Texas, garage owned by Clyde Barrow’s father,” the proprietress explained. “When Bonnie and Clyde were there, he had to keep a lookout for the police.”

“We offer Mystery Weekends but we’ve yet to have anyone take us up on a Mystery Wedding,” Stan said halfjokingly.

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow met their demise in a 1934 Ford Four-Door Deluxe. That Mystery Ride is best avoided.