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The underlying issue of this pandemic is the uncertainty. I have always told people to spend less time worrying about things that are out of their control. Although that is easier said than done, this is 100% the best advice that I can give to anyone going through any type of hardship because of this pandemic. When you are postponing your wedding and asking others, “when do you think this will be over?” you are basically saying, “when will things go back to normal? When can I have my life back?” The hard truth in the situation is that none of us are going to get our life back. It's okay to grieve, it's okay to feel like you lost a piece of yourself. Things are not going to be the same after this. For example, think about traveling before 9/11 and what traveling was like after 9/11. After a catastrophic event, companies changed, companies were lost, families changed, loved ones were lost and everybody had to create a new normal and reshape how that event effected their life. What we can control is the present moment that we are living in. We are in the middle of a history lesson in the making. Your options... to postpone, cancel or elope?I can't even remember how long ago it was, but my favorite DJ in the biz, Brandon sent me a message connecting me to a random lead that he received. He had introduced me to Molly, who quickly we became my client, but most importantly we became fast friends. After talking once, she had booked our services & even my husband for photography, on top of the DJ... before even deciding on the venue for her September wedding. Sometime in between booking us and not booking the venue, Molly found out that her and Jake were expecting a baby. She had contacted me to tell me the news and we celebrated over the phone. We decided to let things sit for a few days and reconnect after her first doctor appointment about how we were going to fit a wedding into their lives. A statement from Ashley Moody, owner of Ashley Nicole Affair:“In efforts to address the ‘elephant in the room,’ I wanted to touch base with our couples, vendors, and following to let them know the safety precautions that we are taking, as well as what we do know about the quick turning events in the industry. What I can tell you is we are aware that everything is continuing to escalate faster than we could have ever imagined. One month ago, I remember checking out of a hotel and looking on the television in the lobby and pay zero attention to the quarantined cruise ship. I cannot even fathom how much that news broadcast rolled off my shoulder. I cannot even fathom that within 30 days, it would be taking out so many businesses, lives, and leaving us with the hardest decisions to make. This virus is now forcing us to shut down and it's even harder to stay optimistic when we are in the industry that is centered around a mass amount of people who are always celebrating.
The way that we are trying to approach it is in a situation that leaves everyone as happy as they can be, but also our number one concern is always going to be the safety and health of our couples and their guests. We understand that this is the most anticipated day of your life and only happens once, we don’t think anyone deserves to have that experience taken away from them. We also hope that you can understand that we are just as devastated as you are and are unexpectedly struggling. We still have a roof that we need to keep over our heads, we still have medical bills, private paid health insurance that costs us much as our mortgage, and tiny mouths to feed. It is so disheartening to hear that fellow industry vendors are facing so many cancellations that they are given backlash for retaining the deposit - remember, the 20-50% deposit is now them figuring out how to live off of a payout of 20-50% of their anticipated income. Corporate companies are having to face laying off employees, severely cutting their hard working employees pay, or begging their employees to take unpaid leave. Not everyone who works for a corporation is being taken care of as much as an employee of Disney and we can safely say that most of them are facing a financial crisis. Let's talk about what we do know... |
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