unveiled
CURRENT EVENTS
Elyse and James Hopkins opted for an ultra-small wedding at Jorgensen Farms Oak Grove on April 5, 2020.
The Corona Effect The COVID-19 pandemic sent shockwaves through the wedding industry, leaving vendors scrambling to maintain their businesses.
It was the weekend of the Arnold Sports Festival, and Jan Kish knew that something was wrong. The owner of Jan Kish-La Petite Fleur, a bakery in Worthington, had been hired by a New Hampshire couple who intended to get married at the annual fitness event. But in early March, days before the expo and accompanying wedding were set to take place, the Ohio Department of Health issued a directive to limit spectators— the first in a long list of coronavirus-prompted changes, cancellations and postponements throughout the city and state. “The wedding went on, and it got beamed over 83 countries,” Kish says. “We went ahead and did the cake, but all of the spectators—all of that was shut down. I think they had like 20 people for their reception.” The news came as a disappointment, but things were about to get a whole lot stranger. Kish had 20
COLUMBUS WEDDINGS FALL/WINTER 2020
been hired to create a cake for a wedding at the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens the weekend following the sports festival. The guest list numbered 250, but when further orders restricting businesses and gatherings came from state officials, the event had to be scuttled. “Friday, it gets shut down,” says Kish, who ended up serving the cake to guests at the couple’s hotel. “They had a brunch for about 40 people.” During the early months of the coronavirus outbreak, Kish—like others in the Columbus wedding industry—was forced to confront a new reality in which countless ceremonies and receptions were reimagined or simply rescheduled. “It’s been devastating,” says Berlyn Martin, owner of Berlyn Events. “There are companies that were projecting millions of dollars in revenue that are now hoping to break $100,000 [this year].”
PHOTO: DERK’S WORKS PHOTOGRAPHY
BY PETER TONGUETTE
