Weddings with 15 or 30 Guests

[East Anglian Discos]

Morning all

Current proposals/ambitions of the government is that from 12 April wedding receptions are allowed for 15 guests which increases to 30 guests from 17 May until 21 June where there maybe no restrictions.

I’ve not seen any recent 2021 guidance to expand further on practically what this means in terms of the numbers and what is/isn’t allowed. I suspect that this is because it’s not set in stone.

I’ve got a few weddings during this window where they have not yet cancelled or if they are waiting for further guidance. It’s a bit frustrating.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Morning all

Current proposals/ambitions of the government is that from 12 April wedding receptions are allowed for 15 guests which increases to 30 guests from 17 May until 21 June where there maybe no restrictions.

I’ve not seen any recent 2021 guidance to expand further on practically what this means in terms of the numbers and what is/isn’t allowed. I suspect that this is because it’s not set in stone.

I’ve got a few weddings during this window where they have not yet cancelled or if they are waiting for further guidance. It’s a bit frustrating.

The crux of it, in my opinion, comes down to can they have live music. Numbers are largely irrelevant - if you can't perform then it's straight forward enough. If you can then contractually you revert to your usual t's and c's imo but then you face potential grief from the client that doesn't want to pay full whack for, what in their mind, is a limited service.

[Benny Smyth]

The crux of it, in my opinion, comes down to can they have live music. Numbers are largely irrelevant - if you can't perform then it's straight forward enough. If you can then contractually you revert to your usual t's and c's imo but then you face potential grief from the client that doesn't want to pay full whack for, what in their mind, is a limited service.

I've had clients in April, May and June kick their proverbial cans down the road by a couple of weeks so they can either have some sort of reception with 15 people, or double their guest list and have a larger reception. Receptions means that there is going to be an allowance for some sort of entertainment and it would behove both the supplier and the client to say "OK, how can we make this work?" There has to be some give and there has to be some take, but the important thing - as it should have been from day one - is everyone working together to ensure that everybody wins and nobody loses out.

We've all had clients ranging from demanding a refund of every penny and wanting access to your savings account to paying in full and giving you access to their savings account, and the funny thing is that neither of those extremes were ever needed. Just talk to everyone before making a sodding decision.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

I've had clients in April, May and June kick their proverbial cans down the road by a couple of weeks so they can either have some sort of reception with 15 people, or double their guest list and have a larger reception. Receptions means that there is going to be an allowance for some sort of entertainment and it would behove both the supplier and the client to say "OK, how can we make this work?" There has to be some give and there has to be some take, but the important thing - as it should have been from day one - is everyone working together to ensure that everybody wins and nobody loses out.

We've all had clients ranging from demanding a refund of every penny and wanting access to your savings account to paying in full and giving you access to their savings account, and the funny thing is that neither of those extremes were ever needed. Just talk to everyone before making a sodding decision.

The problem is, a lot of the time, that decision is being made at the behest of the venue, they'd much rather have a client move to next year (even if it could have gone ahead, with music) so they've got 100+ people spending at the bar and being fed.

You guys are also in the position where, overly optimistic or not, Westminster is actually putting out some solid dates for opening up so people can plan and contingency plan. Bowl cut napper up here isn't and it's been quite interesting to see how many brides are now having a go at Sturgeon online compared to before her last review announcement.

The whole situation is e and internet bride cum lawyers who have read the first paragraph of the last CMA advice and all of a sudden know everything about contract law haven't helped.

[Excalibur]

The crux of it, in my opinion, comes down to can they have live music. Numbers are largely irrelevant - if you can't perform then it's straight forward enough. If you can then contractually you revert to your usual t's and c's imo but then you face potential grief from the client that doesn't want to pay full whack for, what in their mind, is a limited service.

I've had clients in April, May and June kick their proverbial cans down the road by a couple of weeks so they can either have some sort of reception with 15 people, or double their guest list and have a larger reception. Receptions means that there is going to be an allowance for some sort of entertainment and it would behove both the supplier and the client to say "OK, how can we make this work?" There has to be some give and there has to be some take, but the important thing - as it should have been from day one - is everyone working together to ensure that everybody wins and nobody loses out.

We've all had clients ranging from demanding a refund of every penny and wanting access to your savings account to paying in full and giving you access to their savings account, and the funny thing is that neither of those extremes were ever needed. Just talk to everyone before making a sodding decision.

Have you two lads been at my tablets? Absolutely sensible words, both of you.

Personally, if I had anyone falling in the " Limbo" area between an effective ban, and the free for all of late June, I'd have been offering something I know Jim has spoken about. Turn up early, with dinky kit, few if any lights, and play at discreet volume levels, do cake cut and first dance, and then bog off early. Yes, it's a lesser service in some ways, and yes it will command a lesser fee to reflect this. The " Give and Take", alluded to by Benny.

Half of something, is better than all of nothing.

[ppentertainments]

Have you two lads been at my tablets? Absolutely sensible words, both of you.

Personally, if I had anyone falling in the " Limbo" area between an effective ban, and the free for all of late June, I'd have been offering something I know Jim has spoken about. Turn up early, with dinky kit, few if any lights, and play at discreet volume levels, do cake cut and first dance, and then bog off early. Yes, it's a lesser service in some ways, and yes it will command a lesser fee to reflect this. The " Give and Take", alluded to by Benny.

Half of something, is better than all of nothing.

Or offer a package which provides a fun, memorable day whilst also following any restrictions

I am technically fully booked every Fri/Sat from 12th April - even on the 12th I have a couple going ahead with 15 people.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Or offer a package which provides a fun, memorable day whilst also following any restrictions

.

That's not on the agenda up here any time soon. We weren't allowed jukeboxes (I dunno how much truth there is to it but there were claims we were the only country in the world with that restriction at one point) or even volume on the tellys in the pubs when they were open so we're a good while away from amplified live music being a goer.

[DJ Jules]

I've only got a handful of customers left in April/May/June as I've managed to get in touch with most of them and find out what they're doing (all rescheduled this time, most of them pushing their dates back by a full year).

For the remainder, I'm starting to face up to the possibility that some of my customers might have died

Also in the news today, furlough is being extended to September - furlough is usually a good indication of what the government thinks is really going to happen...

Julian

[Benny Smyth]

Also in the news today, furlough is being extended to September - furlough is usually a good indication of what the government thinks is really going to happen...

I think that it has been a very good indicator up to now, but there is going to be a point where the furlough needs to be tapered off. If it stopped dead in the middle of June, the number of jobs that would be lost in such a short space of time because companies don't have enough money to pay their employees having not traded for a long time would be suicide. Having what would be a three month transition to allow businesses to start getting some money in is a reasonable idea.

I'm not saying that you're wrong - indeed, what you have said is very correct - but there is going to be a transition period eventually. Hopefully this is it.

[DJ Jules]

I think that it has been a very good indicator up to now, but there is going to be a point where the furlough needs to be tapered off. If it stopped dead in the middle of June, the number of jobs that would be lost in such a short space of time because companies don't have enough money to pay their employees having not traded for a long time would be suicide. Having what would be a three month transition to allow businesses to start getting some money in is a reasonable idea.

I'm not saying that you're wrong - indeed, what you have said is very correct - but there is going to be a transition period eventually. Hopefully this is it.

I'm hoping so too. In fairness, furlough has been a bit of a stop and start mess. It was wound down last year, only to be resurrected in a different form in the last weeks of the scheme and then reinstated completely at short notice in Nov and now extended again.