While Kula-based florist Teresa Sena's business wasn't physically affected by the Maui wildfires, she said her "whole world" was.
"I think it's hitting us all a little differently this time; it's a little more confusing because some of us haven't been hurt by the fires," Sena said.
The weddings she had booked for August and September were postponed, and she has to be realistic about what that means for her business.
"I sustained my crew during COVID, not knowing what was happening," she said. "I sustained them for two months out of my pocket, but I just can't do that again."
At least 50 wedding reception and ceremony venues were destroyed or are closed until further notice in West Maui. This limits business to the central and south sides of the island, which already had fewer options due to strict permitting laws that have hindered venues.
Kimiko Hosaki, a destination wedding designer and planner, said the economic impact on the wedding industry is widespread.
"All of the weddings that were planned for those upcoming days, weeks or months are not just affecting those specific business owners, they're affecting everybody that they employ," Hosaki said.
She said it's a trickle-down effect that impacts more small businesses down the line.
"For a caterer, you've got everybody from not just the cooks and the people that serve the food, but you have the people that are prepping days ahead of time or butchering the meat, or procuring the actual vegetables from the local farmers," Hosaki said.
In a recent report, the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization forecast that the rest of Maui will return to pre-fire levels by Thanksgiving.
West Maui represents about half of the island’s tourism accommodations, and businesses in Lāhainā generated more than $70 million monthly.
UHERO economist Carl Bonham said the county's unemployment rate may reach 10% before visitors return.
"It's not just the devastation in Lāhainā, it's the loss of visitor spending across the entire county that is leading to the job losses that we've already seen," Bonham said.
Carolee Higashino owns White Orchid Wedding, where she works with more than 300 vendors and employs five planners. She reported that some vendors had to furlough employees during this downturn in business.
After the deadly wildfires, she said tourists and locals are balancing the grieving process with celebration.
Higashino has been in the process of opening a small boutique wedding venue in Makena, but it's been years getting through the permitting stages.
At a recent Maui County Council meeting, Higashino's daughter, Kendall Oreta, a WOW event coordinator, said that without options on Maui, clients are choose other islands or larger hotels for their destination weddings.
"When choosing a private estate our clients support combine businesses such as catering companies, local farmers, musicians, our services, retail outlets, tour companies, rental companies, transportation services, hair and makeup artists, seamstresses, bakeries, you name it, they support island wide," Oreta said.
"Whether you like it or not tourism drives our economy and has for years, even local businesses, whether they think they are not affected. If our tourism workers are not making money, we are forced to choose how we spend our money in the community."
Private chef and caterer Brian David Etheridge was set to open a restaurant in September, but that’s been paused as he assists in relief efforts.
He's part of a camp welcoming tourists and those who want to get married on Maui.
"That dollar that you spend on Maui, you can feel so good about that because it really does go so far," Etheridge said. "You're literally saving people's lives, you're saving people's careers by coming here."
