Wedding planning and COVID-19

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Oct 27

Hey there!

Wedding Planning and Covid-19

Man, I never thought in a million years, or my wildest dreams that I would be here to tell you how to plan a wedding through a worldwide pandemic!Lets begin discussing how we are all VERY aware, in March we had a thirty day stay at home order as of 2/2/2020. I am here to explain to you how my client - photography relationship has been since. I have photographed more than ever. LOVE IS NOT CANCELLED. I have shot and booked more than I have yet in my career, and I don't plan to stop. Weddings are still happening, shoots are still happening and they probably won't be stopping. Now more than ever, I believe people want photos since it's all we have to show people what we are up to etc. Read below some tips for navigating through this new lifestyle. Hello 2020!Here are some tips that you might find helpful on how to plan your 2020 wedding during COVID-19:

What if I (Josie) gets sick??

I will let you know asap and find an associate shooter for you that is within the same professional level (as per contract). Just like anything, it's a risk of course. If in any event I cannot, I will find you a backup or I will 100% refund your money (it's in the contract). I don't see the odds of this happening, as our family has had it recently as of 9/2021.

Reschedule tips

If you have to take this route. A weekday and Sunday are GREAT options to a lot of vendors. We don’t usually book those days. And most importantly, involve every vendor for your dates up in the air. We don’t want you losing money anywhere. This is why I am thinking a weekday or Sunday might be in our best interest.

Rescheduled plan

Please know that I will NOT be charging a reschedule fee per contract. As long as it's within our agreement. I want you to have first dibs on dates before new couples come in, if that is the course we have to take.

What will family and friends think if you do have a reschedule situation?

If your guests knew what you were going through, and I imagine they do.. they will be very understanding if we had to do a different date and I am sure most will make it. I found some good email tips for couples to send out and will link it here.

Consider having an elopement ceremony and then a reception later in the year

There is the ability to just begin to accept things and not wait them out. If you are ready to get married and have waited all year, I get it. My gift to you is I will not charge extra for you to have two dates. We do this by breaking your hours paid for, up into two. We would do 2 hours elopement, the rest for the celebration at a later date with your guests. We can do an elopement with under 10 guests and then do the reception with all the people later in the fall. I am sure your family and friends would be happy to take an afternoon or morning off of work to celebrate with you.

If eloping or reducing your guest count, consider adding video!

We can add on video and just do the four of us plus video for your guests to watch! Bahia Films - click here to see our last wedding together for a 2 hour period of video. Justin, Rebeca and I work together often. We can add them in for $200-300, I think this is a great option. They have a drone so it would be cool. The timeline would be 15-20 min ceremony, then the rest of the 2 hour coverage for couples portraits. My fav. So, lots and LOTS of footage to share! Also, see if your makeup team can do your hair and makeup trial on this day, as opposed to another.

If canceling crossed your mind

I really really try to stay clear of the C word, no one likes to hear it. But to avoid this possibly uncomfortable future conversation, I want you to refer to the contract. Retainers are not refunded, instead I will be giving you that credit towards a new date if that is the route we took. Even if it’s just for future sessions and not the event. I am here for you.

Wondering if we are booking new weddings

Absolutely. I am taking things day by day and am optimistic! I truly believe everything will be okay. If we have a hiccup, we will work on that later down the road.