Hotels and venues in Saskatchewan were feeling the love Wednesday.
Banquets, conferences and weddings are back on the menu with all provincial pandemic-related restrictions ending at the end of the month.
Sheraton Cavalier director of sales and marketing Shawna Nelson woke up Wednesday to more customers looking to lock in a large event at the hotel.
“As I got off those two calls, I had another couple calls from people that are wanting to book in April, June, September. It’s basically a lot of people who are excited,” Nelson said.
With an end in sight, Nelson said the planning conversations switched from distanced dinners and hybrid meetings to the normal conferences that were originally planned.
“For those that are planning weddings this year, and Christmas parties that have been delayed for the last two years, I think it's good news for everyone.
"Even though the light switch is on now, it's still going to be a slow climb. And there's still people that are even saying, ‘We want to book right now in the next couple of days and have a staycation before the restrictions lift as well because we're concerned.’ So there are two sides to the coin,” Nelson said.
Event planner Crystal MacLeod with RSVP Event Design said restrictions ending at the end of the month provide the industry with a bit of optimism. But restrictions or not, it’s going to be one of the busiest wedding seasons she can remember.
“We jokingly call it the Wild West of weddings this summer. It's essentially like we're doing three years of weddings in one,” she said.
MacLeod is booked solid until Jan. 1, 2023 with more weddings planned on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays than usual.
“In 23 years of business, I've never turned away as many clients as I have this past year because we're simply just booked to capacity we just can't take on any more clients,” MacLeod said.
Nelson feels Saskatchewan has a major case of the love bug.
“2022 wedding season is off the rails and it's and it's great,” she said.
“So I guess love is in the air and it is around the corner when it comes to Valentine's Day, right?”
