Covid-19 & Weddings • Advice for Both Photographers & Brides Dealing with the Crisis

Coming out of the typical slower winter season, all of us wedding and event professionals were excited for a creatively fulfilling and profitable Spring, but as Covid-19 emerged and the importance of social distancing became more and more evident (and enforced), most of us have come to terms with the fact that plan B’s need to be considered for spring weddings. So many couples have been dreaming, planning, and saving for their “best day ever” only to have to put their dreams on hold. Despite this terrible situation, the opportunity to be of the utmost service and continuing to show up for my couples is something I’m happy to take on. Your couples will always remember how you made them feel, especially during the hard times.

Photographers: Here are a few things you can do to help your couples navigate through this unknown situation, and to be remembered for being a gracious, helpful and caring vendor.

1) Email your brides! - Simply just letting them know you are thinking about them and are there for them during this time is huge. You HAVE to show up for them right now. Waiting for them to contact you isn’t going to age well. You want to be the first to start the line of communication, it means a lot to them! At first I thought, hmm maybe i’m adding more stress to their situation by reaching out first, but after a few positive responses from my brides after emailing a couple, I knew I was making the right decision to reach out sooner rather than later. Keep it light, keep it positive, and just be there for them. So far I have emailed all my April and May brides, and will soon be emailing June brides just to let them know I’m thinking about them!

2) In that email, include a Calendar of Availability that your brides can look at, so while crafting their Plan B, you can be one of the first vendors that they can cross check their new date with. Highly encourage your brides to look at Fridays and Sundays, as Saturdays are booked for most vendors throughout 2020. I used google calendar to create a calendar of availability that I could share with my couples, I embedded the calendar into my Squarespace site but you could also send them an invitation to view the calendar.

We’re all in this together and we will come out of this even stronger than before with a whole new appreciation for our job. Let’s be remembered for our compassion and above and beyond customer service during this time!

Photographers struggling to make ends meet? Try marketing album and print sales to past brides by offering a special discount, another idea is to sell mini session gift certificates for later use or ramp up your marketing for booking 2021 brides so those deposits can come in!

BRIDES:

We’re in this together! I’m putting all my efforts towards making the rescheduling process as easy as possible for you, so we can celebrate extra later! If you are considering rescheduling, contact me as soon as possible and I will share my availability calendar with you! I’d love to talk to you on the phone and go over our options. Here are my policies for rescheduling due to Covid-19. My #1 priority is to be one less thing you have to worry about right now, and I will do everything in my power to accommodate your reschedule!

1) Your non-refundable deposit retainer fee is still non refundable, however, it may be transferred to another date that I am available, free of charge. My normal rescheduling fee requires another retainer to be made for your new date, however that is waived for rescheduling caused by Covid-19 reasons.

2) Reschedule, don’t cancel!! The wedding industry is taking a HUGE hit from this, and many vendors have plenty of Friday and Sunday availability but very limited Saturday availability. If possible, please try to reschedule your wedding to a Friday or a Sunday so all your vendors can still be involved!

I’m not going to lie, this Covid-19 crisis has really caused a lot of anxiety surrounding the future of my business. As a small business, I depend on every wedding to keep my business running. I realize no one is spared by the effects that Covid-19 is having on our lives, and my heart is with you! The best thing we can do is work together so that everyone wins! At the end of the day, love is not cancelled, and I can’t wait to celebrate extra with you when this is all over!

Some calming photos for your eyes from Hybrid Co in early March.

Photographer: @elliekoleen

Film Lab: @photovisionprints

Creative Direction / Styling / Florals: @jannabrowndesignco
Photographer Educator: @ashleyraephotography
Coordinator: @sarahparkevents  
Hair and MUA: @beautybespoken
Calligraphy + Paper Details: @bohoinkVideo @Dearloversfilms
Gowns: @carolhannahbridal
Surfaces: @jrd_artshop
Ribbon: @silkandwilllowLab Sponsor: @Photovisionprints
Workshop Host: @thehybridco
Rentals: @foundrentals
Model 1: @kattyukhanova    
Model 2: @klaudiareidy
Model 3: olgazhukova.1