For whom the wedding bells never tolled

@kabeeryousef -

"Of course, we have been affected since January last year and I am still paying rent for the space where I stored the wedding decor. Although I have reduced the staff to 40 percent, many of my operational expenses are still being paid and that's putting a hole in my wallet. I don't know how far I can pull on like this," said Khaila al Balushi, wedding planner

For Alia al Balushi, it was one of the big fat weddings that she could ever dream of. The venue was a beach resort, a marquee wedding destination, with guests to be flown in from across the world.

She was given a heavy advance in January 2020 for the event to be held in June the same year and she started roping in the people, things and accessories to make the event colourful. Local companies were contacted, videographers and lensmen were arranged, DJs/bands and florist were booked

And then Covid-19 struck. The world cooped up inside homes and travel was banned. Alia had to refund much of the money and she also lost the money she paid to the sub-contractors who had already spent on the materials for the event.

Similarly, her wedding bookings for the rest of the year too got cancelled indefinitely. Alia is not the only one. Scores of Omani wedding planners have been affected, along with others associated with event management. Many of them pink-slipped their employees and some of them are doing odd jobs to stay afloat.

"We are perhaps the biggest losers due to the pandemic as everyone cancelled their weddings and asked for refunds whereas we had spent on arrangements. We haven't received any bookings yet. Even today, it's still the same," said Ali al Ajmi, one of the prominent wedding planners.

Hussam Harith Ahmed al Sulaiman, another wedding planner, said those who had cancelled their pompous weddings pared down the ceremony to small events at homes with just the immediate family members during the peak pandemic days.

"All weddings planned for the past few months after the pandemic got cancelled and they asked for refunds. Majority of them conducted a small, official wedding ceremony at home where the groom takes the bride's hand and that’s all," Al Sulaiman said.

"Of course, we have been affected since January last year and I am still paying rent for the space where I stored the wedding decor. Although I have reduced the staff to 40 percent, many of my operational expenses are still being paid and that's putting a hole in my wallet. I don't know how far I can pull on like this," said Khaila al Balushi, another wedding planner.

The wedding planners whom this reporter contacted said many of their friends have closed their companies while some are facing issues with the banks as they have loans to be repaid.

However, these wedding planners in the country are among the people who are hopeful of better days after nearly 17 months of uncertainty. As coronavirus cases and lockdowns are being eased, some clients are expressing interest in wedding ceremonies.

"Yes, there are some signs of weddings to take place in future as we started receiving calls. I'm afraid losses will again go high if things don't improve or we receive support from some corners," Ali said.