Wedding, funeral industries see spike in business after COVID-19 restrictions lifted in Lethbridge

When the Alberta government lifted restrictions on social gatherings in July, it created a wave of business for those in the wedding industry.

“We got flooded with so many calls, so many people wanting to continue with their wedding, to increase people coming to their wedding, and then also new couples that weren’t able to get married during that year and a half wanting to get married here at the Norland,” said Tasha Hogg with the Norland Historic Estate Wedding & Event Venue in Lethbridge.

She added the wedding venue is doing all it can to accommodate excited couples.

“We’ve got so many Tuesday weddings or Wednesday weddings, which aren’t really normal but it’s definitely everyone trying to get in while they can, and it’s been great,” said Hogg.

Travis Zentner with Cornerstone Funeral Home in Lethbridge said the calls are also coming in from families who lost loved ones during the peak of COVID-19 restrictions.

“We’ve had a lot of those families come back and say, ‘You know what? We need to do something,’ and really, something can be as simple as going to the cemetery as a small group or even just having a wake or going to a favourite pub,” Zentner said.

Zentner said many of the families they serve want to keep some of the protocols in place to ensure safety but are grateful to have all their loved ones gather together.

“They are still wanting us to provide masks, hand sanitizer, still space six-foot distancing — a lot of those things that were in place beforehand. Families are feeling that they would like to have those, still obviously keeping those capacities unlimited,” Zentner said.

No matter the industry, those who have had to constantly adjust during the pandemic said they are happy to be back in business but will be ready for anything as cases continue to rise.

“Luckily, we’ve already been through the restrictions once, so we kind of know how to handle it a little bit better this time, but we are just praying for the best at this point,” added Hogg.

Source