Looks like another baby boom may be on the way
While Las Vegas may be “The (quickie) Wedding Capital of the World,” Dripping Springs -- with its reported 1,000 ceremonies annually -- is “The Wedding Capital of Texas.” Even going back to 2015, the Texas Legislature agreed and Dripping Springs was dubbed the official, “Wedding Capital of Texas®.”
Our town is home to more than 40 wedding venues within a 15-mile radius, their styles range from exquisitely elegant to downright hoe-down. That makes us the perfect place for weddings that fit every couple’s vision of how they want their nuptials to be.
As one local brochure advertises, “Tucked into the natural beauty of the Texas Hill Country, you will find a relocated 19th century Vietnamese chapel, rustic barns, outdoor spaces with majestic Hill Country backdrops, historic mansions, churches, chapels, and all the wedding accoutrements, including wedding planners, florists, bakeries, photographers, catering, and of course, all kinds of romantic honeymoon possibilities.”
As I was researching this column, it took only a few phone calls to learn many of the local wedding venues are already booked, from now until the end of the year… and when I asked if this was the norm, most venues responded that they were seeing many couples who had been postponing their wedding until it was safe to host a gathering. They also added that some couples were requiring masks for indoor services, dining or receptions.
Speaking to wedding planners in Houston and Dallas, I found their reports were about the same as here in Drip – popular venues had filled quickly by weddings planned for 2020 that were rescheduled for the third and fourth quarters of 2021 and beyond.
These trends certainly indicate an uptick in our local economy, not to mention higher motel occupancies and area Bed and Breakfasts with full weekends… and let’s be honest, our local businesses are overdue for an avalanche of opportunities.
These trends also may be signaling the first baby boom of the 21st century.
All you have to look at is the Boomers arriving between 1946 and 1964. That “boom” – 75 years ago – happened after the hardships and uncertainties of the Great Depression and World War II concluded. Because of the poor economy up until that time, many couples had delayed marriage and many married couples had delayed having children.
Until the end of the war, America’s women were encouraged to “do their bit for the war effort” by working outside the home. Women workers could be found in aircraft plants, munitions factories, sewing uniforms, working as store clerks and accountants… any workplace that employed a majority of males.
Once the war was over, the hard-working women who had taken over the jobs of their male counterparts and kept America running were summarily fired. The message to them was simple: “A woman’s place is in the home, so get married, have your families and make sure the house is clean, the kids are bathed and dinner is on the table when your hubby walks through the door.”
To bolster the economy, the U.S. government actually encouraged the growth of families through the aid of GI benefits, and a popular culture that celebrated pregnancy, parenthood and large families.
Bottom line, sociologists and historians decided the baby boom was part of a desire for normalcy after the Depression and The Great War. I think another one will follow the loneliness of the pandemic, its business lockdowns and multiple quarantines.
And not only are couples setting wedding dates to make up for lost time, but also some couples who were not planning to wed in the immediate future, were quarantined together and decided they didn’t want to live alone. Others not quarantined together apparently didn’t like the big dose of “alone” the pandemic served up, so they fast-forwarded their personal timelines and found partners during COVID-19.
As you remember from American history, the end of World War II, followed by a sustained period of economic prosperity (the 1950s and early 1960s), was accompanied by a surge in population. The unusually large size of the baby-boom generation (some 75 million) magnified this prosperity’s impact on society: the growth of families led to a migration from cities to suburbs in the postwar years. Like dominoes falling, this migration prompted a building boom in housing, which exploded demand for schools, shopping malls and all things needed to set up housekeeping and rear families.
The impact from the “boomers” reaching young adulthood in the 1960s and ’70s was huge. This impact was obvious because of their tastes in music and their hair and dress styles. These strongly influenced the national culture, and the political activism of some contributed to the unpopularity of the Vietnam War.
As they aged and prospered in the 1980s and ’90s, Boomer buying habits determined the course of many consumer industries, including automobiles, swimming pools, leisure watercraft and spending on cruises. Now, every county in the country is being confronted by the needs of baby boomers during their later years, i.e., medical specialists, long-term care, senior communities, caregivers and hospitalizations.
Now, I’m not saying the U.S. birth rate will explode immediately, but be prepared for another surge in pregnancies… and you can attribute this “boom” either on COVID-19 or Winter Storm Uri.
Just like babies born nine months after a honeymoon are honeymoon babies, it is inevitable – COVID-19 Boomers are on the way!