Event planners say businesses take a major financial hit when couples cancel their wedding

MILWAUKEE (CBS) -- You may have heard countless stories of couples canceling their wedding due to COVID-19 and the damper it puts on their emotions, especially if they can’t get a refund.

“It’s really been hard for us to hear those stories, and that’s why we are trying to postpone or work with couples in other ways," Cori Coffman said. She is the events director at Pritzlaff Events.

Just days ago, CBS 58 introduced you to a couple who hoped to get a refund after canceling their wedding at The Coast in Milwaukee. The hospitality group who had been hosting the event denied the couple a refund.

CBS 58 wanted to a look on the other side of the fence to find out how event planners are holding up when people cancel.

“It’s impacting our sales teams, it’s impacting our bartenders, it’s impacting the drivers who drive the products, it’s trickling down in this industry like people don’t believe," Coffman said.

Coffman says the event planning industry has taken a major blow.

“We were the first one hit by this and we’re still not coming out from under it," she said.

Coffman mentions that the only way they can survive is cutting jobs.

“We’ve loss staff so that’s how we’re staying afloat.”

David Caruso has his own little business. He says it’s deeper than just handing someone a refund.

“Everyone has different opinions and different policies around it, but it’s not as simple as it looks in terms of that heartfelt story of just give people their money back, it’s typically more to the decision making," Caruso.