Despite COVID-19, There Were 10 Times More Couples Who Married on 12/12/20 Compared to Last Year

While you’re deciding on what to buy during the 12.12 sale, 685 couples are exchanging rings and eating cake.

Now, that sounds normal except that…it’s 10 times more than last year.

Are people just trying to catch a break and forget that there’s a virus out there? What’s with that?

Delayed Wedding Celebrations

Right off the bat, the wording in the title is a little misleading and clickbait-y.

A slightly more accurate title would be “Due to COVID-19, There Were 10 Times More Couples Who Married on 12/12/20 Compared to Last Year“.

This is because the increase in marriages on Saturday was in fact due to people putting off their celebrations earlier this year, particularly during the Circuit Breaker in April.

People are returning now that the situation is more stable. And not only was there a spike of marriages on the auspicious 12.12, the other days in December are proving popular as well.

So far, more than 3,400 couples have registered to get married, 30 per cent more than last December.

It certainly looks like people are rushing to get married before the year closes.

The founder of Pei Weddings, Chea Pui Yee says that some couples prefer to go ahead with a “small, intimate” wedding, rather than a large one. I wouldn’t be surprised if people are taking this as a chance to exclude some of their weirder relatives.

She also says that some couples need to get married by a certain time in order to receive their BTOs.

Restrictions for Weddings

Currently, the COVID-19 guidelines for weddings are as follows:

• Celebrations are restricted to 100 attendees depending on the capacity of the venue. This includes the wedding couple but excludes vendors and services providers
• Guests must also be split spatially or temporally into zones of 50 people each
• Tables can only seat up to 5 people
• Food for each guest is individually plated

All this takes a toll on hotels that host weddings.

According to the Vice President of Pan Pacific Hotels Group, Gino Tan, the labour cost and set up cost rises with the added restrictions, while the revenue decreases with the stunted capacity.

A ballroom comfortably hosts up to 300 guests, and Tan says that one wedding pre-COVID-19 almost equates to three weddings amidst the pandemic.

For now, Pan Pacific hotel will be absorbing the higher costs, in order to keep the rates attractive amidst this economic downturn. A decrease in cost will only come with an increase in bookings, which is not likely to happen till the restrictions are relaxed.

Featured Image: szefei / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purpose only)