Hi Everyone,
I am gonna come right out and let you know that I am usually a very optimistic person and try to make the best of whatever life throws at me. But this is a bit different. My heart breaks on the daily for over a month now for every single one of you.
I tried to take some time and make sense of all that is happening but I’ll be honest, I can’t. I’m as blindsided as you are by all of this.
Last year, around this time (April-May 2019) I was beyond excited that my 2020 booking goal was met. This year was the year that was going to blow all other years out of the water. I legit couldn’t wait for 2019 to end so that we can start this amazing 2020 adventure. And then….
I have A BUNCH of weddings scheduled for 2020. 3 of them happened right before all of this started (virtual high five to you guys!). My March, April, May and June couples all rescheduled. Some cancelled. If this goes into July, I am going to be at a loss of words. So I’ll go ahead and start this conversation just in case you needed me to, while I can, while I still have words… :)
I can understand how right now this is a hot and most likely anxiety inducing subject for a lot of you. You might be feeling like you have to make some hard decisions in the next couple of weeks and the uncertainty of it all is heartbreaking.
Since most of it is entirely out of our control and I don’t have many of the answers we all need and want, I will focus on the questions that I can answer and on the things that I can control.
(With a 6 year old at home, we have watched A LOT of Frozen 2 and Olaf perfectly describes how I’m feeling right now)
First and foremost, I want to remind you that you are not alone. I am here for you, the rest of your vendor team is here for you, and so are you friends and family. We all want you to be able to have your dream wedding and celebrate with your loved ones. Whatever happens in the next couple of weeks (heck! even months) from now on, whatever decisions you have to make regarding your wedding, we all understand.
I hope you all know by now without any doubt that I have your best interests at heart. I want you to be able to celebrate without any restrictions. I am over here rooting for you to have the best wedding day ever and I will keep hoping and sending you positive energy until we figure this out.
If some of the message below comes across as a bit dry, just know that that’s not a reflection of how much I adore you all :) I’m trying to answer some FAQ as simply as possible. Here are a couple of questions and answers I thought might help:
WILL YOU STILL BE PHOTOGRAPHING OUR WEDDING?
Yes! That’s all I want to do! I still plan to photograph 100% of the weddings I have scheduled for this year, as long as your event carries forward and we are within any laws and limitations set forth.
POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
Should you need to reschedule, postpone, or cancel your wedding, your first point of contact should always be your wedding venue and/or planner. They will let you know what your next steps should be.
The situation we all find ourselves in right now is evolving rather slowly. In most cases we don’t really know what’s gonna happen even 1 month from now… In March of this year, I was still, very optimistically looking forward to my late May and June weddings. We are now in late April and all I know, is that I know nothing :) I guess what I am saying is that, it’s usually better to be safe and have a date picked out as a backup, just in case.
My suggestions to you would be to start looking at alternative new dates now. Reach out to ALL of your vendors together. Be ready for alternatives to Weekends— When all this is over and done with, people are going to want to celebrate with you, no matter the day of the week.
WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR RETAINER, CONTRACT, WEDDING DATE, ETC., IF WE NEED TO RESCHEDULE OUR WEDDING?
If you decide to postpone/reschedule you may apply the entire retainer towards a new date. I am happy to transfer your contract to a new date with no extra fees. Since your last payment is due on the day of your event, you will not have to worry about any payments until that time.
If you want to put a “soft” hold on a date (as a backup), I can definitely accommodate that request as well (no extra fee). yes— I will hold both dates for you! :) Please make sure you reach out and let me know as soon as possible if you want to do that.
HOW DO WE RESCHEDULE OUR WEDDING?
Before locking in a new date, you must first reach out to your venue to check availability. Ask for a couple of available dates from your venue and try to set a whole day aside to make the switch happen.
Once we have a new date in place, I will send over your new contract addendum with the date change. Everything else stays the same.
If you choose a date without checking on my availability first or if you choose a date that you know that I am booked for, you will be considered as cancelling your contract and forfeiting your retainer.
WHAT IF WE DECIDE TO CANCEL THE WEDDING ALTOGETHER?
If you choose to cancel, instead of postponing/rescheduling, you will of course not be expected to pay any remaining balance beyond the retainer. As stated in the contract, the retainer is non refundable. If you already made a second payment towards the total, that one is refundable.
Also, (this applies to all my current couples in the planning process) please know that if you have a payment coming up and you would prefer to postpone it for when things get back to normal(ish) that that would be absolutely fine with me. You will receive 1 or 2 automated messages reminding you of the payment due date -- please feel free to ignore them until you feel financially comfortable to take care of it. I do not want this to put any kind of extra pressure on you and/or your loved ones. This will not have any kind of negative effects on the contract between us. The balance will simply be due by the agreed upon date of the event.
NEW 2020 AND 2021 INQUIRIES
At this time, I am not booking any new weddings for 2020— I am prioritizing my current couples to accommodate rescheduled weddings.
…actual picture of me running away from 2020…..
If you are in the process of planning a wedding for 2021, please be patient and understanding with the vendors you are inquiring with. We have an influx of 2020 couples that we are desperately trying to accommodate. There are 2021 dates that are on a soft hold right now that might open later, depending on how this all turns out.
In other, more positive news, I am booking all new 2021-2022 weddings at 2019-2020 pricing*.
(* this offer is valid until July 30th 2020)
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you have any questions or thoughts on what you would like me to talk about, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I know I‘ve been mostly quiet this past month, but I am here for you. This situation is fluid and I am still exploring how we can best serve our couples and reasonably protect our business simultaneously. Our hope is to come out on the other side of this with a whole lot of renewed energy.
Thank you to all of my lovely couples for cheering me on and sending me so many lovely messages. Your love and support during this time is sooo appreciated. I love following all of your quarantine adventures. I smile and celebrate you and your love daily.
Keep posting. Keep reaching out. Keep smiling.
