Businesses gear up for busy wedding season

By Jotham Ulutoa 02 November 2019, 11:00AM

Weddings in Samoa present great business opportunities.

And with more and more loved up couples opting to use outdoor settings for their special days, two rental businesses are gearing up for their busiest season in terms of weddings and other outdoor events.

The Manager of Naydith Events Hirage, Joseph Faolotoi, tells the Samoa Observer they have noticed a huge shift in Samoa since they started their business.

It’s not unusual for Samoans nowadays to have weddings of up to 400 to 500 guests, he said, adding that they have catered for multiple weddings at one time.

December, he said, is their busiest month.

“We find that the high season for weddings is from October to December,” he said.  “And throughout the year we cater for up to three weddings a month but December is the busiest month of the year.”

At Naydith, Mr. Faolotoi said they like to think of themselves as the one stop shop for everything to do with weddings and other faalavelave.

“We ask the couple how many people are going to attend the wedding, and that’s how much chairs we cater,” he said.

One of the biggest challenges for the business is when people change their plans last minute.

“They give us a certain number and then last minute they change their minds,” he said. “They find ideas online and they change it again and find other ideas then change it. Some people keep changing it right up to the wedding day.”

The same challenges are encountered by Rees Hirage who have been in the business a lot longer.

But Manager, Maria Letoa, said they are used to it and they do their best to accommodate changes and last minute requests.

The wedding season, she finds, varies from year to year but the period between November and January is very popular, she added.  

During their 12 years of business, Mrs. Leota said they have also noticed a change in people’s preference for days to get married. Saturdays used to be the most preferred but more and more people are now opting for Fridays.

Some people are happy to get married during the weekdays, with a number of weddings very small.

 

 

 

 

 

By Jotham Ulutoa 02 November 2019, 11:00AM

Trending Stories

Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>