Located off Mueschke Road in Cypress, Lindsay Lakes is a 21-acre property featuring two ceremony sites that each accommodate up to 300 guests.
The venue typically hosts at least 100 events annually, and Lindsay said as of March 24, at least 10 events planned for March and April had already been rescheduled due to coronavirus concerns and restrictions. Other couples were waiting to reschedule until they had a better idea of when county restrictions on gathering sizes would be lifted.
“Obviously all vendors have been hit very hard—that includes our waitstaff, our cooks, our bartender and everyone it takes to make a wedding go off as planned,” she said in a phone interview.
As many wedding guest lists include loved ones traveling from out of town, Lindsay said the venue started getting calls from concerned brides as soon as media coverage of the coronavirus in China began.
Before Harris County’s stay-at-home order was issued the week of March 23 and Gov. Greg Abbott had asked Texans to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people, Lindsay said one couple chose to go through with an intimate ceremony in the on-site chapel.
Leading up to the county’s stay-at-home order, Lindsay said the venue was taking health and safety precautions such as practicing social distancing.
Lindsay Lakes is allowing events including weddings to reschedule with no additional fees, but rescheduling so many events has caused wedding venues to miss out on potential revenue from those later dates, she said.
“Most venues and vendors are rescheduling the wedding dates with no charge,” Lindsay said. “This means not only have they lost their original date; now they’re giving up another date that could have been sold. We recognize this is not anyone’s fault as many small businesses will be greatly affected. We’re trying to make the best out of a terrible situation.”
Most brides and their families have been planning their wedding days to some extent for years, and having to postpone it due to the coronavirus can be devastating, Lindsay said.
“I think it’s really heartbreaking for some of them—they have families that have planned this for a long time,” she said. “It’s their one day that they’ve been planning for their little girl. We’re trying to do everything we can to give them that special day. We want them to celebrate, but we want them to celebrate with their family when it’s safe.”
