‘For us it was really just 100 to 0 overnight’

Wedding planning is at a standstill. That means trouble for businesses like SnapBar

We asked readers to tell us about how their businesses are coping with the coronavirus. We’re featuring highlights of those conversations here.

‘For us it was really just 100 to 0 overnight’

Many couples who are knee-deep in wedding planning now have to make a heartbreaking decision: postpone the big day until the pandemic recedes or scrap the plan outright.

For companies like SnapBar, either choice means trouble. 

Sam and Joe Eitzen started building custom photo booths for weddings in 2012 as a side hustle. The business took off, and they expected to bring in $4-$5m this year.

Now they’re just focused on keeping the lights on. 

“It’s not like we’re still able to operate like a restaurant and still serve some customers food through a drive-through,” Sam said. “For us it was really just 100 to 0 overnight.”

SnapBar is focusing on 3 things: The customer-service team is doubling down on weddings that can be planned far in advance, the engineering team is working on a virtual photo booth, and the leadership team is considering D2C sales in a different vertical.

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