The UK's petrol crisis has been a widely reported issue, affecting many people across the country – and now weddings are back in full swing, the problem could extend to brides and grooms.
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How could the petrol crisis affect your wedding?
The first and most obvious way that the current situation with the slow supply of petrol and diesel could impact your big day is through transport. If guests are struggling to fill up at the pumps, they could arrange to car share to make it to the venue. There have also been reports of taxi inflation due to the situation so that could have a knock-on impact too.
Check in with your wedding transport provider
There are a lot of logistics involved when it comes to bringing everything together on your wedding day, as suppliers often have to travel from different cities or towns to provide their service. The very real issue of fuel could affect some of these supply chains.
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Wedding planner Mwai Yeboah, founder of Love From Mwai gives firm advice. She says: "If you are concerned, you should speak to your suppliers" and the same does for those guests. "If your wedding coming up, when fuel reserves at petrol stations may not have been replenished, talk to your guests yourself and encourage them to take public transport or lift share to the church or venue."
Venues like Hawkstone Hall & Gardens are doing all that they can to help
It is not just the current fuel situation that has rattled the industry. In fact, after lockdown, returning to get into full wedding swing has been difficult for many businesses because of staff shortages and supplier issues.
"Clients must be flexible," says Tania Burton, Managing Director of Ginger Snap, a luxury catering firm. "The current situation has led to stock issues with many suppliers which has required us to make changes to menus to adapt to what is available. Our chefs are experienced enough to substitute items or be creative with menus to allow for stock."
Now is the time to speak to your suppliers
Hannah Petrouis, Director of venue Hawkstone Hall & Gardens reminds everyone: "We're an industry of problem solvers. The more that event hosts - e.g. brides and grooms - and event their guests can do to pre-empt the challenges, the better."
And just remember, when you're walking down that aisle, the chaos at the pumps will be the last thing on your mind!
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