With COVID-19 restrictions lifting, hoteliers have seen an uptick in weddings for this year, and most of the ceremonies on the books are rebookings.

Jasmine Simon-Wallace, area director of sales and marketing at Real Hospitality Group, said the outlook for weddings has completely changed from 2020 to 2021.

A lot of gatherings came to a halt in 2020, resulting in many people rebooking for 2021 and 2022. Simon-Wallace said 50%-60% of weddings on the books are events that were rescheduled.

Real Hospitality Group held onto deposits for couples who wanted to wait for guidelines to loosen in anticipation of rescheduling, which is happening now, she said.

She added that larger groups are permitted at weddings now, and while there are still restrictions like not allowing people to dance on the dance floor, couples have found new ways to keep guests entertained by focusing on listening to a live band or having people in the wedding party give meaningful speeches.

Kasey Bussell, event manager of wedding and social events at Margaritaville Resort Orlando, said there's been increased confidence from those looking to hold larger events at her property, which left some couples scrambling to book quickly as they find dates are limited due to the number of rebooked events.

"Couples who have no or little flexibility in their wedding dates are quickly finding that their date may not be available," she said via email. "Those who are flexible are quicker to go to contract and book, especially during peak or desired times to ensure they lock in their venue."

While there are numerous rebooked weddings for this year, Bussell said she was strategic in not rebooking during peak months and days to still allow new business to come in.

"I gave couples who may have been booked on a Saturday and wanted to move to busier October and November the option of a Friday or a Sunday instead to keep their wedding on a weekend, but to keep the peak Saturdays open for new business and fill days that might not otherwise have booked," she said. "I didn’t want to fill up every single Saturday and not have the opportunity to fill those dates with new business and with updated menus."

While some restrictions have been lifted, others remain, particularly around food and beverage, Bussell said. Each associate is masked and gloved, and buffets and areas that are self-serve are accompanied by staff.

"We already had butler-passed hors d’oeuvres, but I am certain that many venues are doing so as to not have guests sharing from platters," she said.

Tables that were typically set for 10 are now for six to eight guests per table, and ceremonies for weddings are being designed to allow for social distancing.

The Hotel Colonnade Coral Gables, part of Marriott International's Autograph Collection, captured approximately 50% rebookings for weddings and lost 40% due to cancellations for 2021, Trevor Bondarchuk, director of sales and marketing said via email.

Event sizes were affected at first because of pandemic restrictions, but most weddings are back to normal sizes now, he said.

He added budgets haven't gone down and "people are spending."

"Our facility is a premier location and even with added venue fees, we are still ahead of pace from 2019 going into 2020, [which is] the truest metric," he said.

U.S. travelers are able to travel to the Maldives with proof of a negative COVID-19 test, which has led to a steady flow of interest for weddings from American couples, Bradley Calder, general manager of Kudadoo Private Island and Hurawalhi Island Resort, said in an email interview.

The majority of requests for weddings are for couples having to reschedule their big day, and rebookings have couples focusing more on "‘how’ they are getting married — which includes the ‘where’ rather than the ‘when,'" he said.

Many couples booking are looking to microweddings, which are parties less than 50 people, Calder said.

"Understandably, they want to celebrate their big day with only their closest of friends and family in a private setting," he said. "Having less of a headcount means the couple can spend more time with each guest, not to mention more money on the celebration."

And guests definitely are spending more, he said.

"With smaller guest lists, budgets can go a lot further to create a memorable experience for all during the celebration," Calder said. "Couples are also wanting to spread their budget over a four- or even seven-day celebration rather than just one day, using the wedding also as a family get-together in paradise to make up for all those missed in 2020."