HONOLULU (KHON2) — The wedding industry is reminding Hawaii’s local government to not forget about their businesses.
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Businesses like florists, wedding planners, photographers and DJs say that they’ve been closed since March. They went from a bustling business to having absolutely nothing, and some have shut down for good.
Local businesses are saying that because of a loophole, they haven’t been able to qualify for unemployment benefits.
Monty Pereira, the General Manager of Watanabe Floral, shared his thoughts with KHON2.
“With the city CARES Act funding, you have to have a store front. Many people in the wedding professional business, whether it be a photographer, or DJ, or wedding planners or even wedding florists for that matter, work out of their homes so they don’t have a physical store front,” Pereira said.
Wendy Balidoy, an Event Floral Designer at Spinning WEB Florist, also wanted to help spread the word.
“We’re here to say that we’re forgotten about, but we’re still here. We’re trying. And people are selling their things and it’s really sad that we’re not getting the support,” Balidoy said.
Governor Ige says that he has been working with the counties to identify any gaps in providing financial assistance to businesses.
