Cover image by Rebecca Sligh, collectiv Photography
7 BILLION FISH IN THE SEA, AND 5 MILLION OF THEM PLAN TO
TIE THE KNOT IN 2022.
Brides in a panic, florists overbooked, photographers with turn around times delays and caterers with not enough staff—it must be 2022.
What’s shaping up to be a busy year for those planning to wed, is proving to be an even busier year for wedding vendors of every kind. When it was reported that over 2.5 million weddings are to take place in the year 2022 (Pandey, 2021), it became very real to those planning their upcoming nuptials that finding vendors may soon become impossible.
Although about 2 million weddings take place each year already, 2022 is a special exception by adding about 500,000 more weddings to the list (Wedding Report, 2021). With a majority of these weddings being rebooked from 2020 and even 2021 due to Covid-19, newly engaged couples are having a hard time finding help for their big day since many vendors across the United States are booked solid—some even until 2023!
Image grabbed from @writefullyyours_ via instagram which states the US will see 2.5 million weddings next year-the most amount of weddings since 1984. @writefullyyours_ used this image to promote their services with brides.
As the 2021 wedding season is in full swing, being the busiest from May to Oct., may people have had to bite the bullet and rebook their wedding date as soon as Jan. 2022 just to be able to find a vendor. “I am the most booked I have ever been in my career.” Asia Croson reports.
Croson is a popular California Central Coast wedding photographer who just stepped into her seventh year of wedding photography. “Not only am I completely booked within my personal life,” Croson states after announcing her pregnancy in Aug. of 2021, “I am completely booked solid for 2022…which is a first for me.” Croson, who, along with weddings, also photographs seniors, families, and maternity sessions says, “After having so many clients need to rebook from 2020 and even early 2021, as well as all the new couples who just got engaged this last year, I’m just excited for this next wave of creativity!”
One of the millions of wedding images taken by Asia Croson Photography of a bridal party posing for photos during the big day.
With 16 weddings on the books for Croson next year, as well as a new baby due Feb. 27, 2022, Croson recalls how taking time off for six months of 2021 was a huge burden as well as a blessing in disguise, “I was able to re-evaluate my career path and focus as well as build a very strong team of second shooters, assistants and editors, so for that I am very grateful.”
Angelique Roeloffs, assistant to Asia Croson, states, “I have sent so many wedding contracts for new and existing clients the last 3 months alone! As a photographer myself, I am super excited to be busy for this upcoming wedding season but since next spring is also my last quarter of school, it will be extra challenging.”
A table setting at a recent wedding shot by Rebecca Sligh of Collectiv Photography. Showcasing the talent of local vendors in California and just how magical they make your big day.
Although Croson and Roeloffs are local to California, that doesn’t mean they don’t travel for weddings. Just within 2021, Croson will have traveled out of state three separate times for wedding photography. “I am glad it’s a little more safe to travel but I really can’t wait until its completely safe to travel again which will make the weddings way more stress-free.”
Amidst the stress of traveling, the stress of booking vendors like Croson and Roeloffs, has become challenging for couples as we are only a few short months away from a year-long wedding season. Roeloffs warns, “If there are people still trying to squeeze in a wedding for next year, they better book their vendors ASAP!”