Wedding Industry Booming in South Florida as Pandemic Nears End

You might be seeing some wedding invitations in the mail again. The industry behind the big events is making a comeback and South Florida has become a hot spot as restrictions have eased.

Raffi Grosz is the owner of Petal Productions in Miami. He said that business has been so good, but some items are in short supply - and it’s not just flowers. 

“As time is going on, things are coming back strong. We are finding the industry here is really picking up," Grosz said. "You can’t find hotels to have an event in for the next week. You can’t find a party planner to do your event with.”

“We can’t get basic hard good," he added. "Shipments are not coming from China. The production from the rest of the world is not happening.”

The pandemic created hurdles for brides and grooms to jump over on their wedding day.  That’s where luxury event planner Jessica Campbell comes into play.   

"There are some brides that became very stressed. But I feel that on January 1^st 2021, that was the day there was a comeback," she said. "Venues were opening up brides were calling. It’s like brides were given a second life after COVID.”

Newlyweds Angela Daniel and former NFL star DeMarcus Ware called Campbell for help. The couple had to downsize their guest list due to the pandemic. 

“We knew in Florida, we couldn’t have over 20 people and everything has to be small now," Ware said. "We still wanted to get the beach. We still wanted the ocean and the privacy. And it gave us all of that, so we though why not do it right now.”

Campbell says most couples are requesting a few changes, like requesting guest be fully vaccinated.

For most couples like Ware and Daniel, it may not be exactly what they pictured, but they were still happy to tie the knot.

"It was not upsetting, not at all. It ended up being what we wanted and it was really nice having it small and intimate so we could spend the time with the people who were there," Ware said.