Hello to all our current, future and previous couples – and really, a hello to all out there who might read this. We hope everyone is doing as ok as can be expected at this very difficult time.
We haven’t posted anything publicly until now about the Coronavirus / Covid-19 outbreak. As our couples who are due to be married in the next few months know, we have instead been working all week to ensure we have spoken to them via phone. This is because a chat on the phone works so much better than an email, particularly at trying times. We want all of our couples to know that we are there to give all the advice and help we can. Alternatively, we are there just to listen.
We know these are extremely challenging times for many of our couples as they face up to the reality of moving the date of the wedding they have spent so long planning. We hope that by supporting these couples as they change wedding dates (and by talking them through the process of doing so) we are able to alleviate one tiny layer of stress and worry from this daunting situation.
As all the couples we’ve spoken to so far know, we are not asking for any extra money to move wedding dates. We just want to find one date that suit our couples, their venue and that we – and other suppliers – are available for. We of course cannot wait to return to being able to look forward to attending so many unique weddings, every day full of love and happiness. We truly hope all weddings can go ahead as planned, but we realise from our conversations with couples and venues, this will not be possible for everyone.
From today, we will be moving onto contacting all June and July weddings to arrange a chat – it’s nothing formal, we just want you to know we’re there to help and discuss a ‘plan b’ with you, just in case it is needed.
So, if you are due to get married soon, please expect to hear from us today or tonight. If you’re getting married in August to December this year, of course please do get in touch with us if you have any questions at all. We value you just as much and if you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
At the beginning of the week, we, like many of our peers in the wedding industry were using the phrase ‘it’s business as usual’ as we all faced up to what was ahead. It’s such a fast moving situation though and we have quickly realised that it is in fact not business as usual: many couples are postponing dates, our business (and all business, both small and large) is being affected. Of course much worse still is happening to others around the country and the globe in terms of livelihoods and people’s health.
So – this is not business as usual, it really isn’t. We are leaving any rhetoric behind and concentrating on being open and honest with all of our couples, as we are all in this together. We are here to help, we are here to reassure.
We also must thank all our couples for being so supportive towards us in return. Many of you have asked how we – and our families – are coping and you have taken the time to talk about our own experience so far. We really cannot thank you enough for this.
With every chat we’ve shared with our couples, it’s been so uplifting to look for tiny glimpses of light within the darkening sky together. Then, we build upon them. We will continue to build upon them until finally the sun comes back out – and it will.
So we can talk about the C-word: coronavirus. In fact, we must – as a business, as friends, as family, as a society. We must now take this seriously. Let’s talk about it and let’s find solutions. We are finding every April / May couple who postpones to a new date comes away thinking this: they WILL still have the wedding they’ve been planning, only on a different date. Therein is something to really look forward to.
So, if you do choose to move your wedding date, then know that for us, no option is off the table. We are supporting a growing number of postponements. In doing this we are seeing great resilience in all our couples. We are seeing great strength. We are seeing a collective will to overcome adversity.
When we do chat to you, you can be assured of one thing: we will be honest and we will give you the best advice possible where your wedding plans are concerned. But above all, we will wish you well. So to all of you, stay safe and keep well. That is the most important thing right now.
Our couples can learn more about the implications of changing their wedding date here.
