We interrupt your #stay-at-home session to share a big hug with you. I can imagine reading is not everyone’s favorite thing to do right now especially brides to be or people contemplating wedding planning BUT the good news is we have the man above so we will overcome it. Life as we knew it has changed, most people are working from home and others are still waiting for ‘when’. Every industry especially the wedding and event industry has been hit hard leaving everyone in panic mode because we can’t seem to pinpoint when it will all be over and that’s scary. The painful truth is people’s livelihoods have been interrupted!
Big wedding dreams have been put on hold, birthdays celebrations and other special events have been postponed/canceled and we are questioning what is next? What will be the new normal? Nobody really knows BUT love and celebrations will eventually have to go on even if celebrating it takes a slightly different turn. Besides, life is too short to worry about things we can’t control. I have spoken with friendors (vendors who have become friends), couples and guests who are genuinely concerned about my/their businesses, and their events. There is no easy way to answer it without saying ‘IM OK’.
How I’m I coping? You ask. Everyone is doing it differently but 4 things I have found to work are
1. Pray for guidance and meditate
2. Accept what is, don’t by any means downplay what is going on and be ready to have wedding/event withdrawals
3. Take a break from social media and take care of things in your space. It helps to focus on other important things and have fun while at it
4. Be at peace! Once you accept, understand and take that break, your mind is ready for anything and you can regroup and re-strategize going forward
Without trying these, you are only crippling your mind, thinking of what could be and you come up with so many plan B options that you can’t implement. Everything around you becomes a reminder, people advertising their work on social media becomes a threat. You are spiraling and not thinking straight! STOP and COPE.
News Flash! We are going to work it out together and until things get back to normal some changes need to be made.
As a guest, check in on your couples to find out how they are doing and if they postponed their wedding. Be ready to be disinvited from a wedding or removed from a guest list you were once on. It’s nothing personal but with everything going on, we have to adjust accordingly and that means being content with a passcode to a virtual wedding for now.
As the bride and groom, try staying calm, talk to your family and your planner (let them communicate with the vendors). Embrace the idea of having a small event, maybe very intimate with a limited number of guests for now. Some of your guests will be offended because they probably expected to be invited and your planner/coordinator will work with you on how to explain situations to your guests without hurting anyone’s feelings.
As vendors, this new normal will affect everyone differently depending on your role at weddings. It may be good or bad but we have to embrace the opportunities regardless. The industry is going to change whether we like it or not and bracing ourselves for the inevitable will be our new default. Right now it’s all about our couples, being their cheerleaders and spokesperson during this difficult time.
I find that no one has the right answers or advice on what to do. While everything seems to be out of our control, three things we can all agree on is to continue to live in the moment, think positively, and leave it to the big man above, we will get through it!!
DISCLAIMER: It’s your day, your choice, this is just my ✌🏾cents from experience and being a boss planner :)
The Boss Planner