Events and wedding planners bemoan poor patronage in 2016. They are looking forward to a better New Year, writes Jean Ambele
A number of events and wedding planners in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), moan that the current economic recession in the country caused their business to decline in 2016.
Some event and wedding planners, who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), however, conceded that they still had some patronage last year, even though the number of festivities had decreased considerably due to the prevalent cash crunch.
They recalled that they welcomed 2016 with high expectations of a revived national economy that would give citizens the opportunity to celebrate their joyful moments but noted that the economy still remained in comatose throughout the year.
The reasons for the sustained economic depression in 2016 are not far-fetched: The year started off with a plunge in oil prices and a drastic reduction in Nigeria’s oil production due to the insurgent activities of a militant group, “Niger-Delta Avengers’’.
Judith Anyawu, a Lagos-based event planner, said the development had made many event planners to be apprehensive of the impact of the economic realities on their business.
She recalled that by February last year, there were strong indications that the events’ planning business would experience a downturn.
“February is known to be a good month for us in the business because of the Valentine’s Day celebration, which normally attracts several events across the country.
“There are various events hosted by churches, offices and individuals to celebrate unity, kindness and love among the people.
“Many marriage proposals are also expected to take place on that day; you might be surprised to know that scores of marriage proposals usually occur on every Feb. 3, the Valentine’s Day, in Lagos alone.
“You can imagine how many marriage proposals that would take place on that day across the country every year, and that is something which all event planners look forward to because marriages are veritable avenues of making good money.
“However, in 2016, I organised only three wedding ceremonies and they were not big ones. You might tempted to attribute that to the inability of people to find ideal suitors or special persons they would like to marry but we found out that most people now decide on simple marriages without any iota of flamboyance whatsoever.
“People have become more money-conscious or frugal; they now see the need to cut down on their expenditures but we then had no idea that the worst has yet to come.
“As months went by, there was an obvious reduction in the number and magnitude of events and weddings that were organised in the later part of 2016,’’ she said.
This is because the economic situation became somewhat hopeless with the abysmal fall of the exchange rate of the Naira in 2016, as over N400 merely fetched one U.S. dollar, while the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, in August, confirmed that Nigeria had slipped into economic recession.
Stefanie Okerafor, a wedding planner in Abuja, said many events and wedding planners hoped to make up for the lost chances during the celebratory month of December, adding, however, that they were totally disappointed.
She recalled that there was a drastic reduction in the number of wedding events organised as the year drew to an end.
“The major wedding months are June, July, August and December. The recession was officially announced in August, even as we began to feel it in June but it hit us hard in September and since then, there has been a drastic decline in the number of events we organised.
“I have clients that had fixed dates for events but ended up making deductions or cancelling the events outright due to some financial glitches.
“I was looking forward to making more profit in December but the month was really `slow’ and uneventful,” Okerafor said.
Sharing similar sentiments, Tonye Jack, an Abuja-based event planner, said: “It was really hard in December and I think it is the worst month I have had since I became a wedding planner four years ago.
“December normally has many events and we, events and wedding planners, are usually busy in December because of the weddings, bridal showers, Christmas parties and other end-of-year festivities.
“We are just hoping for a better 2017 and we pray that more Nigerians would be able to celebrate those moments that ought to be celebrated.’’
Nevertheless, Seun Ajisafe, another event planner in Abuja, expressed the hope that 2016 would be the last year with harrowing economic experience for all Nigerians.
“There was a slight fall in demand for the services of event planners by December of 2015, and I thought that would be the worst experience for us.
“We had high hopes for 2016 but it was a terrible year for all Nigerians. As 2016 drew to an end, I concluded that it was a very bad year, particularly for event planners in Nigeria, and we just pray it doesn’t get any worse. I hope 2016 will be the worst year we ever experienced,” she said.
Looking into the future, observers insist that 2017 portends a better time for events and wedding planners, even though the planners, who are somewhat sceptical, are preparing themselves for a slow recovery to forestall any form of disappointment.
On the other hand, some of the events and wedding planners have decided to veer into other businesses and projects in the dire need to beef up their finances while they await better patronage this year.
All the same, as the clock begins to tick for the year, event and wedding planners continue to pray for the country’s economic revival and a resurgence of the citizens’ patronage of their services which has nosedived considerably.
- Ambele is of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
