Weddings In Time Of The Coronavirus

We live in interesting times. Maybe the kind of times that we might tell about our grandchildren (or, hopefully, not). Some times in which the weddings’ industry is in a weird spot, together with other events-related activities – the time of the Coronavirus.

Some people are panicking and canceling weddings because they don’t want to put their families at risk. Other people are nervous about other people panicking, because they don’t feel the threat as real and they don’t consider getting their event or income affected by others’ fear.

I’ve tried to have some conversations with some of vendors, but they are all sick and tired of the media-inflicted panic. They simply don’t want to go there with the conversation. They feel like talking about it won’t solve anything (which is correct) and prefer to just go on and adjust on the way – most of the times their whole family depends on the weddings industry. If things go south, so will their income and well being. So it’s a bit difficult to discuss things in a relaxed manner.

Wedding planners on the other way gather and try to think about solutions before they are actually needed (at least we, in Romania, do). I’m sure we’ll be just fine, after all this goes away, but it is nice to know that at least we’ve got each other’s back.

But what can we do at this point?

Is there anything that we CAN do? Well, at first, we could at least go and admit there IS a small problem that could become BIG. Second, we need to understand that our health is and should always come first. Life is a series of ups and downs. Maybe this is the down of our generation. Or maybe it’s just the drill. Third, we need to think about ways of helping each other, in case we really are in trouble at some point. Find solutions, go cover for each other, be flexible. This is not about negotiation. This is not about opportunities. This is about humanity.

And last, but not least – please, please don’t ignore health safety recommendations. Please avoid touching your face, adopt new ways of saying hello. Wash your hands. Keep your social distance, as much as possible. Yes, I know, you are young and not afraid of “the flu”. But this is, actually, something very simple that you CAN do.

If clients are panicking, we should be able to comfort them and assure them we will find solutions. If clients are NOT panicking we should prepare for the potential moment when they will be blown out by the restrictions and cancelations, and cushion their landing.

And what if, WHAT IF, this is all just unjustified panic?

Shouldn’t we just stay calm and carry on? Well yes, by all means. Keep on planning weddings, business as usual. But do acknowledge the problem and create a mindset that will allow you to also keep calm when and if real problems do occur. We might be lucky and have to deal only with smaller guests lists. Maybe we’ll be even luckier than that and the heat of the summer will just postpone our problem. Maybe a vaccine will be available soon and things will calm down.

Or maybe none of this will happen. So I think we could at least talk about it. Just to pass the time.

I suppose nobody would want to see their photo or a photo of their wedding on an article about weddings in time of the coronavirus, so I go on and attach one featuring my lovely high heels shoes that I no longer wear. There.

Photo credits belong to Ioan Stoica.