For Immediate Release
Industry coalition launches new website for private event industry
LetPAMarryUs.com advocates for the safe reopening of the wedding and event industry
March 10, 2021 (Harrisburg, PA)—The Private Event Professionals of Pennsylvania (PEPP), in partnership with the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association (PRLA) and the Philadelphia/South Jersey/Delaware chapter of the National Association for Catering and Events (NACE), recently launched a new website, LetPAMarryUs.com, aimed at advocating for the safe reopening of the wedding and event industry in Pennsylvania.
The group is urging the Administration to reopen the private event industry to 50% capacity effective immediately and provide a plan on how it achieves 100% operational levels. Industry professionals and the public are encouraged to visit the site to send emails or tweets to the Administration in support of the safe reopening of the event industry in Pennsylvania.
“How, after nearly of a year of managing this pandemic, do we not have clear steps and metrics outlined to return businesses to full capacity?,” asked Tim Sudall, president of NACE Philadelphia, South Jersey, and Delaware. “It’s a failure of leadership to not be planning and communicating now for the eventual rollback of these mitigation orders.”
Weddings represent more than 65% of the private event industry in Pennsylvania and impact more than 40 other professions or industries in Pennsylvania, including farmers, food purveyors, caterers, venues, hotels, restaurants, entertainment, photographers, videographers, breweries, wineries, salons, florists, and more. In 2019, Pennsylvania ranked 6th nationally for the number of weddings held. Despite the nearly $2 billion of economic impact weddings and private events generate, there currently is no plan from the Administration for reopening indoor event venues in Pennsylvania.
Events, like weddings, take 6 to 18 months to plan. Without clear guidelines or metrics for reopening, customers do not have the confidence to book their events now, thus delaying the sector's recovery.
“The private event industry has been decimated by the Administration’s mitigation and the steps to reopening it has been too slow in coming,” said John Longstreet, PRLA president & CEO. “This segment of our industry is a vital component of our recovery and survival and the delay in communicating how it will reopen is putting it in peril.”
“Safety of our staff and clients are our top priority,” said Domenick Savino, CPCE, Managing Partner, The Drexelbrook. “Fortunately, we’re a highly regulated industry that has protocols in place to do just that. Rather than allow us to open fully like neighboring states, the Administration has shut us down driving events into unregulated locations, doing more harm than good.”
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Media Contact
PRLA: Stephanie Otterson, (717) 963-8369, [email protected]
Food Shelter PR: Lorraine Gimblett, (215) 254-6601 or [email protected]