Summer is a popular time to tie the knot, especially in Arkansas, since you're likely to have sunny weather for your big day. But last year with the pandemic, a number of couples were faced with a choice: downsize the wedding, or postpone it.
We were curious about which option was more popular. And went snooping around.
If there are more weddings this year than last year, you wouldn't be able to tell from the number of marriage licenses issued. We got the summer wedding license totals from May to July for 2020 and 2021, courtesy of county clerk offices in Pulaski, Washington and Benton counties. Here's the breakdown:
Pulaski County: May 2020-July 2020: 753 licenses issued
May 2021-July 21, 2021: 621 licenses
Benton County: May 2020-July 2020: 610 licenses
May 2021-July 21, 2021: 546 licenses
Washington County: May 2020-July 2020: 588 licenses
May 2021-July 20, 2021: 523 licenses
If you took the remaining days of July and assume there isn't a huge spike in marriage licenses at the end of the month, it looks like the numbers issued for the summer last year and this year aren't too different.
To get another source about the number of wedding ceremonies between last summer and this summer, we spoke to a couple of wedding photographers.
One of them, Corrie Childers, is in northwest Arkansas. Although Ms. Childers said she's photographed roughly the same number of events as last summer, there were changes to last year's weddings: "Most of my 2020 clients decided to drastically shrink their event instead of rescheduling or canceling," she said. "So I ended up doing a slew of tiny weddings with around 10 people at private residences and small venues."
Although it's not what she's used to, Ms. Childers said the smaller ceremonies allowed refocusing on the most important part of every wedding: the marriage. A preacher or two we know would say amen to that.
Between May and August 2020, the photographer said she shot eight mostly small weddings, and for the same time period this year, she will have photographed nine full-sized weddings. That tracks for a normal summer for Ms. Childers.
One of the biggest changes at weddings is the mood during the ceremony. When most folks imagine getting married, they expect it to be the happiest day of their lives. But the photographer said 2020 summer weddings were accompanied by worry about the tragic consequences of covid-19 and the isolation of masking and social distancing. That added anxiety to what's normally an exciting event. But weddings this summer? They have an entirely different vibe.
"People are still feeling much more confident in the safety of events this year and feeling the hope there's light at the end of the tunnel," she said. "For the most part there is more lightness and happiness than fear."
And Ms. Childers had to completely change up the way she photographed weddings during the pandemic. In addition to masks and hand sanitizer, there was a change in shot types and lenses. For example, during receptions, the photographer said she normally likes to get on the dance floor with a wide-angle lens and capture guests having fun. But she can't do that anymore.
"Standing back and using a longer lens allowed me to keep my distance and still get the photos my clients are hoping for," she said.
This year, things are slowly shifting back to the way they used to be, with couples and planners feeling more at ease with the revival of mingling at events. (Thank you, vaccines).
We also spoke to Jason Hudson, who also photographs weddings in northwest Arkansas.
He said business this year has been about as busy, but the ceremonies are larger than they were in 2020. Last year he photographed 40 weddings, and so far this year he's on the schedule for 38. We'll assume he's made peace with saying goodbye to free weekends.
Mr. Hudson said weddings are getting back to normal. In 2020, weddings started big, and then diminished to a few others attending, sometimes just the officiator and Mr. Hudson.
Having weddings limited to 10 people hurt the wedding industry a lot, the photographer said. But small and intimate weddings are popular right now anyway.
"Couples have seen that you don't have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to be married," he said. "I don't think really big weddings will come back full force for a while.
"I've enjoyed the 'covid weddings,'" he said. "Far less stress and fuss. And it's nice to see the people getting married during covid were doing so because they wanted to be married and not because they wanted to put on a big production."
There's almost an additional purity in the way he describes some of these ceremonies.
We asked the photographer what his favorite creative twist he's seen at a wedding has been so far, and Mr. Hudson said individual charcuterie boards, which sound pretty neat.
It's fascinating to hear about how weddings have changed over the last year because of the pandemic. And from what these two photographers told us, combined with the number of licenses issued, it seems like a lot of brides and bridegrooms chose to adjust their weddings on the fly instead of postponing them. True love.
The No. 1 wedding tip we'd offer right now is to get vaccinated before you attend one. If Arkansans want bigger weddings with more friends and family to become the norm again, they're going to need more shots in arms.