'We only have a couple of dates left': Loosened restrictions spark wedding boom in Manitoba

Capacity limits, face masks and early last calls -- the pandemic forced many brides and grooms to postpone their vows, but now, the hard-hit wedding industry is catching a break with the loosening of health restrictions.

Capacity limits, face masks and early last calls -- the pandemic forced many brides and grooms to postpone their vows, but now, the hard-hit wedding industry is catching a break with the loosening of health restrictions.

Brides-to-be filled the RBC Convention Centre on Sunday for the Wonderful Wedding Show, which is back after taking a pandemic break.

"Our last show was January 2020, so we had to cancel the '21 show, and then we postponed the January 2022 show to March now, and we're so happy, and all our vendors are so happy," said Sherri Rheubottom, the event's show manager.

The pandemic saw many brides and grooms to be decide to delay their big day rather than deal with rapidly changing health restrictions.

"The wedding industry was hit harder than any industry," said Rheubottom. "They rely on every single event, and when that happened, weddings were cancelled, a lot of weddings were postponed."

According to Rheubottom, attendance at Sunday’s event was at pre-pandemic levels, showing a glimpse of hope for the wedding industry.