Coronavirus is THE topic of conversation right now for everyone. It is no doubt an unnerving time in all of our lives. Being self-employed and in the event industry makes us very on edge about what is happening both in this moment and in the months to come.
Wondering what’s better - COVID-19 or a Jurassic Park situation…
We were just listening to Alexa’s news round up, and NPR’s Business Story of the Day came on. The topic was the effects of the Coronavirus on the wedding industry. Something one of the interviewed couples said sparked me to write this post.
““That was a lot,” Elizarraras groans.
”Glad we have a planner though,” says Skrodzki.
”Can you imagine trying to call all the vendors ourselves?” Elizarraras asks. “In tears. No.””
We get many of our weddings through our amazing, badass wedding planners, but when we do book a client who has not hired a planner yet, we always strongly recommend that they do so.
In normal circumstances, weddings are a lot. When we have initial talks with clients, one of the most common things we hear is how they are realizing how much goes into planning a wedding that they didn’t think about and don’t know where to start. We of course will do whatever we can to assist, but wedding planners… I don’t know how they do it.
I took this photo of Sean attempting to herd cats…I mean…our lovely bridal party ;) (Shout out to Michelle + Jonathan!) And this is just us organizing some group photos. Imagine all that is going on outside of this scene that the wedding planner is managing. Venue The Assembly Room in Baltimore. Planning by Charming Grace Events
Wedding planners are master balancers and preventers of chaos. You want someone like that on your team, we promise. Take a scenario like the current one we are in. Enter your angel wedding planner, who helps keep your ducks in a row when you feel like you are losing it.
Baby Ford (shout out to the Faw’s!) keeping it real for the camera. It’s okay if you feel like this right now. This too shall pass.
So this blog post goes out to all the unbelievable planners we work with. We know we are stressing, and we only have to manage the photography aspect. You all wear many hats, and you look damn good in all of them.
Lindsey and I were bike taxi mates while scooting around town taking photos with our newlyweds (shout out to Lisa and Jeremy!). Thanks for snapping Sean $. We grew up in the industry with Lindsey. She was the very first planner we met and worked with, and we love her so hard. Venue The William Aiken House in Charleston. Planning/Design A Charleston Bride.
One other thing I wanted to bring up that I never think about…wedding insurance. If your wedding was cancelled or rescheduled due to this shitshow we are experiencing, you may likely be losing deposits for the various services you have retained us vendors for. This sucks. No sugar coating it.
I am not claiming to know the first thing about these policies, so I recommend doing some research. I found these articles on NY Times, Brides, and The Knot that can get you started. Your wedding planner also may have some insight. :)
This is our buddy Life in Rewind Films. We love him long time. We like any excuse to share a photo of him.
As most of our colleagues do, we collect nonrefundable retainers when we sign a contract. Cancellations in these situations suck, because it is no one’s fault. We don’t enjoy keeping these retainer fees when cancellations happen, but we have to as it is part of our livelihood.
Enter wedding insurance, yay! From my limited research so far, these policies seem very affordable and can help you recoup lost monies paid for various reasons. Do your research though, and make sure you ask if the policy covers you for say, a global pandemic?! Or a more common concern when getting married in Charleston in the late summer/fall, good ol’ hurricane season.
Angel + Brian one week before a mandatory evacuation was issued. C’est la vie. But their wedding day was a most radical day. Venue Middleton Place. Planning/Design Ooh! Events
In summation, please be well everyone, take a breath, and try to enjoy your time with whoever is lucky enough to be quarantined with you. ;)
xo
Elizabeth
