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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
Covid-19 regulations have been relaxed and weddings are going on with 50 guests and below.

Service providers such as MCs, photographers, dancers, those with PA systems, caterers and the like, are now happy as their source of income, cut short at the beginning of the wedding season is now back on.
Government banned social gatherings like weddings during strict lockdown measures since March 31 to curb the spread of Covid-19.

As such, many couples had to postpone their wedding dates.

In all this service providers have had no business as from March until the beginning of August for some as clients were not forth coming due to the uncertainty as to when the Covid-19 restrictions will be lifted.

They were only lifted in June, but Government said weddings could go ahead with only 50 people.

This number of people at weddings has led to clients and service providers clashing. This is because clients, according to service providers who spoke to Saturday Leisure, believe that 50 people means less work for them, but they believe this is not the case.

Revelation Sibanda of ORG Media based in Bulawayo who works on filming and videography for weddings, said most clients who approach them now, negotiate for a downward variance for their services.

“Clients think that 50 guests mean that our job has become less. But we still start working as early as 7AM taking videos and photos of the bride and groom preparing for their big day in their respective homes. We do this until 5PM, at the end of the wedding.

Editing of the wedding video and photos still takes the same amount of time. They expect us to reduce prices because it’s now 50 people from like 300 guests which our minimum package catered for.

“We would charge something like US$300 to US$350 for wedding photos and filming, now because of the regulations of just 50 guests, they want to pay us US$100,” said Sibanda.

He said their overheads such as rents and other utilities had not been reduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We’ve to pay rent for our office space, which for us the minimum is US$70. At home it’s thereabout. Our expenses haven’t changed since the Covid-19 lockdown and it has become hard for us to come down with regards to pricing.

“We had clients who had paid deposits. So, considering that it is for 50 guests and they had paid US$150 and because he or she is cutting on the numbers they won’t pay the rest of the money. At the end of the day we are working for free. The deposit helps us with logistics to film the wedding beforehand and the rest of the money is for our labour for editing and the like,” said Sibanda.

He said some clients had moved their dates to next year.

Masters of Ceremonies or Directors of Ceremonies are also in the same conundrum — clients want them to reduce their rates.

Although he was grateful that Covid-19 regulations have been relaxed, Phillip “Cde Phil” Moyo has a challenge.

“The biggest challenge with weddings of just 50 people, clients will want to negotiate for the price I charge to MC their wedding. At times you explain that it’s not about the wedding having less guests, my efforts are still the same. My delivery as an MC, the quality is still the same. The number of people goes down but the quality does not diminish,” said Cde Phil.

He said he has hosted weddings as from last month and it was great to note that all have adhered to the Covid-19 regulations of 50 people, sanitising with some even testing temperature of guests before entering the venue.

Dance groups who provide entertainment such as Khaya Arts have now reduced the number of dancers they take to weddings to adhere to Covid-19 regulations and to be able to pay them a good amount.

“The effort by us the dance group and entertainment doesn’t change, but our clients want us to reduce how much we charge. The dance group has 12 people and I’ve now reduced the number of people who perform at weddings to six. I alternate between weddings taking the batch that I wouldn’t have taken to the previous one,” said Future Dube Khaya Arts’ director.

He said he even lets group members moonlight.

“I know I can’t give them a steady vein of income so I let them go and perform with other groups if they are asked to do so. People have to eat and I can’t hinder them from doing so, it’ll be inhumane. I guess this is the new norm that we are living in these days,” said Dube.

Caterers are also bearing the brunt as some couples opt out of having them prepare their food.

Lwazi Mathwasa who owns and runs Mankosi Hearty Meals Catering Services said this is because 50 people is manageable for a catering team chosen between the two families to serve the guests.

“With 50 guests, not many people will need the services of a catering company because the numbers are manageable. They can just form a committee that can cook the meals and buy the ingredients and not pay a cent for labour.

“This is the problem we are faced with right now as people in the catering industry,” said Mathwasa.

She said there were couples who had paid their deposits, but everything is now at a standstill, as most of them are in the diaspora.

“I had so many clients who had paid deposits and the like for catering. I charge US$3 per plate and some had paid for 300 guests and some for 500. The unfortunate thing is most of the clients are based in the diaspora. Some had sent people to pay the balances a week before the lockdown was enforced. I’m still waiting for them to tell me what the way forward is,” said Mathwasa.

She said she has to cut down on her staff to stay afloat as a business.

All service providers are banking on the further relaxation of Covid-19 regulations so that they can make meaningful income from weddings like before. — Follow on Twitter @bonganinkunzi